#tried to kinda merge my old design with the new one and make him look more scruffy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

createandconstruct · 3 years

Note

Wait, Garland

So. I started this reply, worked on it for two hours, and then moved my window and tumblr eviscerated most of it. Safe to say after that I had to mourn what I lost for a bit. I hope I can channel my original thoughts and words! Maybe it’ll be even better? We’ll see!

Anyway let’s talk about the wrinkly genome himself. Buckle up this one’s a doozy (enjoy some required reading music that fits the man of the hour).

favorite thing about them:

His design. This all knowing watchful eye of Terra is as lifeless as he is old. His eyes are blank and empty. His face is withered. His body, without the imposing cape, is like an emancipated black skeleton, where at its center lies the only light and color of Garland’s entire form. He is entirely black and white, except for the red glowing sphere at his center. At first look when I saw it I felt that it’s very much a metaphor for the role designated to him by the Terrans. In Garland’s chest lies the red glow of Terra, the exposed ribs of his black, armorlike chest, keep it within - protecting and hiding it from the outside world of Gaia. Until the time is right. Garland is nothing more than what the Terrans made him to be. An eternal servant that takes every breath for the protection of Terra as that is the reason he was given for living. Every inch of his body was designed for such purpose. Its only right he was designed to aware like a living cage, protecting that last flickers of Terra and its souls that lie within.

On that note let’s look at his design another way. Terra’s revival is Garland’s only reason for living. Zidane questions Garland’s own wants and desires to which he can only claim they are the restoration of Terra and its souls. He has nothing except the words he was fed by the Terrans millennia ago. Garland is the true hollow shell of a man you find in the remains of Terra. He is worn, withered, and ancient. He has lived so long for one reason only, a reason that was never even his own. The light of Terra - the light of the selfish, arrogant, and greedy souls of Terra - are stuck within his opened chest, powering him like an exposed heart or soul. Terra is his power source. Garland cannot rest. He was not created to rest. He was created to follow the reasons the Terrans gave him for his existence. (I exist only to kill) Garland exists and has existed unable to find his own reason for living - Terra’s forever trapped within him. A constant reminder. On the outside, Garland has withered away through his taste of eternity, while Terra’s light has remained strong within him, still forcing, powering, and pulling him forward to the ultimate goal. Perhaps that’s why Garland is only able to voice his own thoughts in death (even calling their failures towards their planet arrogant, and reflecting positively on his chance at existence despite his purpose), after the light of Terra inside him has finally gone out and he is beyond his creators’ reach.

Though, my final, and favorite, interpretation of his design begs a question… are there truly even any Terrans left? Memories and experiences make the soul, FFIX tells us. Garland cannot take Zidane’s soul from him as his soul is no longer the power source Garland gifted him. It is the laughter, tears, and memories Zidane shared with his loved ones on Gaia. Zidane is of Gaia. He is Gaian. So then who is Terran? The genomes, even Kuja, are not of Terra. Not the true Terra, anyway. The Terra the sleeping souls tried to preserve in the face of mortality and the wasting away that comes with time. The people we see are from the planet’s remains. The true Terrans are those who know the history, who know the culture, who lived and walked and experienced the planet when it was its own, and not a parasite latched inside another. The genomes know nothing of these things. If we call them “Terrans” it’s only because they were created on the fragments that were left inside of Gaia. In reality the Genomes were finally born on Gaia, once they began to experience - began to create memories of their own. There’s a reason Terra’s water does no flow. The world we visit within Gaia is just a frozen memory of a long dead planet.

And when those sleeping souls of Terra... when they finally arise will they even be Terran? They will have no memories of the planet or crystal where they originally cycled. Even if Gaia was assimilated, they will have bodies born on the planet of Gaia, where only remains of Terra lie, from the failed merging of the crystals. Even if the crystal of Gaia turns red the memories of these new “Terrans” will be of their new planet. They will essentially be Gaian and will likely consider themselves so as there is no plan to pass down memories to these new people from Garland. Garland is restoring the Terran souls into a new cycle, as if trying to return things to how they were before Terra’s death. It’s like a child trying to get a deceased loved one to play or react to them like they always do, not understanding things will never be like that again. Garland can never truly restore Terra or the Terrans to the they were. Those people, the original Terrans, even if their souls remain, have been lost to death and time. Perhaps their memories could have been passed on much like Vivi’s at the end of the game but because they were so desperate to ensure that their “superior” life, history, culture, and race endured forever, they lost the chance to truly persevere such things by passing it down to others in the present for the future. Instead such things were lost when they tried to allow themselves to endure by erasing the life from another planet.

All this is to say that, the only true Terrans are those who hold one of their souls, who know the history, and the culture and the only such person who exists, is Garland. He is the last true Terran. The remains of Terra have been cast with the blue of Gaia’s light. The Terra we see, that we visit? That’s not Terra. Terra is gone. Only one of its people remains. And the tragedy is that while Garland says his goal is to restore Terra, he’s going about it in the wrong way. In reality, Garland, an almost immortal being, who carries the last true light of Terra within himself, always had the means to truly preserve Terra and its people’s memories: by simply sharing them with the future. Instead, the Terrans doomed Garland and their planet with their plans of grandeur and eternity. A doomed fate that follows all who attempt to escape death. Which is why it is perhaps so appropriate that when Kuja destroys the remains of Terra within Gaia it is only fitting that Garland has died along with them too.

least favorite thing about them:

Like Kuja, as an antagonist, there’s a lot to dislike about Garland, but that’s intentional. He’s a good villain, I like him. I rather mention something that kinda annoys me writing wise? Not even annoying, just something that gave me a raised brow the first time I played the game and now gives me a headache the more I think about it: Omnipresent Garland voice.

Now Garland speaking to Zidane in Memoria I can deal with. It can make sense, even though it’s not explained. He’s a timeless being who existed before the current civilization on Gaia began. You could argue through his soul experimentation and millennia existence he has found a way to keep a level of consciousness as his own soul travels to the crystal. We know the cycle of souls is slower due to the manipulation of the crystal by Garland so it makes sense his souls is traveling slowly in the cycle towards the crystal after his death, allowing him to find Zidane and chat. Its also an interesting parallel of Zidane and co. traveling through Memoria, deeper into the crystal, while Garland’s souls travels too. Memoria is almost like Garland’s 5000 year life flashing before his eyes. Until he eventually reaches the end. The void of space. Perhaps the void of death. It’s the place his voice finally leaves Zidane. Is Garland’s voice disappearing into that void an indication of him stuck in a purgatory like state? Never return to a crystal? Or perhaps that void is the end of himself (of his consciousness), as we know him, but his soul continues on like Zidane and the others do as he is accepted into the cycle of Gaia’s Crystal? Whatever the case I can deal with Garland’s bodiless voice in the end game. I like it honestly.

What bothers me a bit is Garland’s voice appearing right after Kuja kicks him off the cliff. I get it. Kuja has to feel on top of the world before he spirals and crashes. He finishes off Garland and gets to dance about in victorious glee only before Garland’s voice resounds in everyone’s heads. His presence still lingering even after death to inform Kuja of his own impending fate. But it’s still a little jarring when it happens the first time you play it. Garland falls to his death and then he’s telepathing through the force. There’s a moment of “wait he’s alive?” then “wait he’s not” and then “how’s he doing this?” It can take you out of the scene which should very much be about Kuja. This is very much a nitpick and something that can be explained away because of Garland’s character and capabilities but whenever I play I’m like oh here comes ghost Garland. Though maybe it’s better to think that Garland actually did survive the fall and as he lies dying in the abyss beneath Pandemonium, with his remaining strength, he speaks to Kuja and others in the same way Kuja speaks to Mikoto and Zidane at the end of the game. Yeah I like that. Seems I fixed my own gripe. And now the essays are over and we can get to the fun stuff.

favorite line: I have some favorite villain lines of Garland and some favorite sentimental post-Mufasa’d-Garland lines. We’ll start with villain: "Forget all that. You are destined to live among the stars for all eternity.” I love this line, it’s kinda haunting that this is not just Garland’s motive but the motive of the Terrans. I then love Zidane’s retort. Their whole back and forth is just William Shatner Shakespeare drama father vs very angry teenage theater kid son. Number 2: "Don't you know what it means to meet your maker?" Something about this line real hits home the clashing between Zidane and Garland in Pandemonium. It always stood out to me, especially the first time I played. It’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Garland. He is Zidane’s creator who was so ready to erase him with barely a snap of his fingers. As for sentimental lines, I’m predictable: “Zidane… take care of Kuja.” and “Even if I were created to serve one purpose alone, I do not regret being born to this world." Shout out to - despite my earlier ravings - Garland’s narration over the scenes in Memoria. When you encounter each memory and then get the fade to black with his objective description, it’s like the souls who have experienced each memory I talking through him. Both Terran and Gaian.

brOTP: Garland has no bros. He has no friends. Though I would have liked to see Mikoto and Garland interact. I wonder what her feelings were towards him as she was his third project, a last resort, who would easily be replaced if she went wrong in the same way Zidane replaced Kuja, and she replaced Zidane.

OTP: Garland x the eternal sleep

nOTP: Do people even ship Garland with anyone

random headcanon: I always thought that after Garland attempted to steal Zidane's soul he carried him in his arms to inside of Pandemonium and placed him in that chair. It felt disturbing and poetic to me. This idea that when Zidane is at his most vulnerable - his soul literally being pulled from his flesh - Garland, his creator, carries him away like a father would a son. Yet Garland brings Zidane to the deepest part of Pandemonium to place him on a throne where he’ll sit alone, as everything that makes Zidane, Zidane, slowly slips away. A creator - a father in some sense - drops his son into solitude never expecting Zidane’s true family to come through, reigniting Zidane’s very soul. Perhaps at that point when they come to face him, Garland already had an inclination he’d lose.

unpopular opinion: Not sure I have an unpopular one? Something I realized though is Kuja’s purple/silver/white hair may very well be his natural color as it matches Garland’s hair. I’d like to think that Kuja, as Garland’s first unique, soul-filled genome, was created in Garland’s image. Garlands also a great villain who is built up well by the entire game and he does not come out of nowhere. That may be a hot take for the non-ffix appreciators

song i associate with them: Copied City by Keigo Hoashi and of course, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (though this piece also has a distinctly dramatic Kuja vibe as well). If Garland got his own unique boss theme I’d imagine it being something dramatically played on the organ. Though nothing fits Garland like and Mourning by Keiichi Okabe. This piece is just incredible in general but it's insanely powerful and well, mournful. (And you KNOW WHAT I just found the ARRANGED piece of mourning and hOLY ORGAN: Mourning Arranged by Sachiko Miyano. I am now adding it as required reading music for this post.)

favorite picture of them: This piece by @spoonybart is haunting. The colors and lighting form the center glow of Garland’s chest really give him the other worldly and imposing presence he has in game.

Also this art by @oeilvert Literally so incredible. It is ingrained in my experience of playing FFIX for the first time. When I got to Terra and experienced Pandemonium for the first time I went searching for art that captured my feelings and found this piece. It is perfect.

And then there’s this piece by もりもり on pixiv. I found it and can’t stop thinking about it. Absolutely incredible. It makes me wheeze whenever I see it. Garterbelt Garland. Amazing 100/10 everyone else go home.

#asks #werareallkujaandkadajstans #ffix #final fantasy ix #garland #garland ffix #final fantasy 9 #kuja #zidane tribal #feel free to send me whatever characters ya'll i will continue my essay writing #you're also now legally obligated to go give love to all that art and the artists #if you don't your soul won't cycle

24 notes · View notes

jossujb · 3 years

Text

Cos I complain a lot in this blog about Big Finish cover art despite me loving Big Finish products, let me give my opinion on all Jago & Litefoot covers.

S1 basic, you can see the clash of poor quality rip of Jago & Litefoot’s appearances from The Talons of Weng-Chiang and the ridiculously crisp pictures of Dr. Tulp and digitally created werewolf and stuff, but it is not ugly, and it communicates the inside content rather well.

S2 The same problems as above, especially the poor quality picture chosen for Litefoot drives me nuts in how ugly it is. Gabriel Sanders looks cool, tho I never imagined him looking like that based on audio.

S3 Just about the best of the early season, basically the best quality photos for Jago & Litefoot they ever had in their disposal, and that particular picture of Jago is for that exact reason reused multiple times. This one also has a thought put into composition and visual interest.

S4 I love the Kempson & Hardwick part of, just these black and white eery images, but the portraits or J&L, Leela and the Doctor are ugly as sin and I wanna rip my eyes out.

Voyage to Venus: Beautiful. This one I would buy as a poster. Sure it looks a collage of images glued together, but it fits the sort of whimsical Jules Verse - style of the story. This will clearly influence the latter half of the covers, but none of the others Make the sort of awkwardness of digital composition work for it.

Voyage to the New World: Ugly as sin. I would make a better one eyes closed.

S5 The worst quality of Jago & Litefoot portrait pictures so far, you can almost count the pixels with your own eyes xDDD Still, my favorite of the early cover by a long mile by just the trippyness of it and how lovingly their profiles combine into this psychedelic circle.

S6 Last of the old style of covers. Tries to be S3 but isn’t.

S7 First of the new, higher quality covers that have clearly gone through more substansial level of graphic design. Litefoot has been photoshopped with Homburg hat and Jago with a bowler, and that’s just adorable and fitting their social status.

S8 My favorite of the new cover style. Quite frankly, they never came close to merging the poor references and digital mashes so well. The Scorchies are just delightfully cursed and the fire of the New Regency theatre ring lighting their heads, ah <3 I love it, I am actually making a big Jago wall decoration based out this one in particular.

S9 I really loved this one when I first saw it, but it has kinda annoyed me since... I don’t think the elements are particularly well blended together, and it kinda looks like random pictures overlayed with each other. First time Jago is pushed forwards in the composition tho, which is interesting trope that comes around - maybe as a reflection of his internal belief that he’s a protector of Litefoot haha.

S10 Same problems as above, but where as S9 was still pleasing enough to look at, this just makes me angry. And Summerton looks nothing like like I imagined either xD

S11 Second time Jago is pushed forwards. The Master looks good, so does the 6th Doctor in flamboyant but still period accurate clothing, but it’s still kinda awkward in composition.

S12 I hate it. I hate it so much. Everyone looks like a papercut out - which granted, I am willing to forgive with Litefoot, as it is the fake!Scarlet Gallery!Litefoot, but jesus no.

S13 This one I hate the most. I’ve ranted on my blog about this one in particular so many times it’s not even funny. Why is Litefoot inside a hexagon of shame? Why is Dr. Betterman there, but he’s not accompanied my Mr. Aubrey? The LOW POLY RATS. The awkward way Xiu Xiu looks straight at the camera when Jago doesn’t I hate it. I hate it so much.

Jago & Litefoot Forever: Basically just S1 redux, with same faults and benefits. Kinda fitting for something that was fairly designed as series finale.

Jago & Litefoot Revival: Cute, I love the gimmick of you having the room to choose if you want Tenth or Eleventh Doctor on the cover. Nothing much fancier than that, it’s a short trip after all.

S14 Funny thing, I had exactly the opposite reaction to this one than S9, that I really made a gnarly expression when I saw it the first time. Reusing the the same old picture of Jago they used so many times and coupling it with a picture of Litefoot, that I get feeling was some unrelated to DW picture of Trevor Baxter edited to suit the cover made me cringe. Plus the lantern is is held very awkwardly, like it has no wight at all. But somehow it’s become my second favorite of the new covers and like, maybe fourth in overall ranking. You can’t really go wrong wit blue-orange color scheme, plus all the element in it are coherent and relevant.

My top five is rather obvious, from bottom up S7, S5, S14, S8, Voyage to Venus.

The worst of the worst are Voyage to the New World and S13, especially S13 I seriously wish they would just do a new one.

#jossu's random rambling

2 notes · View notes

milkbreadtoast · 4 years

Text

Hey so! I’ve been wanting to share one of my Kurama(yu yu hakusho) headcanons for a while, but have been too lazy(and scared) to put it into words and share it w/ my followers ahah. But i’m finally gonna share it..! This is one of my headcanons that’s most crucial to how I interpret his character... and I want to preface this with saying that everyone has a different interpretation of a character, and that’s ok; u don’t have to agree. Interpretations can feel very personal sometimes...this one means a lot to me personally haha. Anyway, here goes: (BIG SPOILER WARNING!!!)

Basically... I think the current Kurama, “Shuichi” Kurama with the red hair, is LITERALLY a different person than he was in the past, due to the unique way he escaped death by merging with the unborn child of a human woman, and that his current personality makes a lot of sense if you think of him... as a fusion, in a sense... kinda like a Steven Universe fusion(not exactly, but hear me out)...

The present day Kurama is shown to be a really different person than the legendary thief Yoko Kurama. This difference becomes starkly apparent when the Yoko Kurama of the past makes his appearances in the dark tournament, and he’s very sadistic, cruel... very different from the Kurama shown until then.

Although the current Kurama has the same memories and consciousness, intelligence, etc. and is still fully “Kurama”, and a 1000+ year old demon, he also seems to act...like a normal teenage boy. He giggles, jokes around, cares a lot about his friends, and of course, loves his human mother...

Hiei describes Kurama in an internal monologue in ep 47, and it’s very interesting...

Kurama also describes himself in this way, in the same ep:

Although not in the manga, Kurama also says this in ep 108:

When Kurama talks about how he’s changed since being reborn, and how he’s become a different person... I think... it's more than just a change of heart. He's literally a different person, because his soul merged with that of the boy who would have been born as Minamino Shuichi.

And moreover, Kurama himself seems to be aware of this? in the way he describes himself...the whole “we’re merged,” “while I am Kurama, I am also Minamino Shuichi,” “no longer the same Kurama that I used to be”... And perhaps most convincingly, in this line he delivers in “Two Shots”:

Specifically describing himself as having a “human side”, despite also explaining to Yusuke in his introduction that he is fully a demon, despite his human appearance.

Given his wisdom and intelligence, retained from his past as Yoko Kurama, this--his self-identity--is surely something he’s thought hard about over the years, and this is the conclusion he’s come to... Even though he is classified as a demon, this is the way he describes himself... as a fusion of sorts, as being part “human”... (and Hiei’s description is mostly likely influenced from what Kurama has told him, along with his own understanding of Kurama).

The current Kurama shows a profound duality, and it makes him such a fascinating character... in certain moments, he shows a coldness, a brutality, a willingness to take lives, and wisdom and intelligence that certainly goes far beyond his human years. Yet... stuff like how he giggles and jokes, and how he outsmarted Kaito by making a funny face... to me, this is something new... something unique to his current self...something the old Yoko Kurama wouldn’t do.

The way Kurama acts in the present day... the way he's 100% a demon, yet distinctly...human... makes so much sense if you think of him as being like a fusion?? When “he merged with the body of the human who would have been born as Minamino Shuichi”, I think their souls also merged. (edit: This also makes sense if you consider that in his severely wounded state, Yoko Kurama was essentially reduced to a bare soul, disembodied and dying--If this fusion between his dying spirit and this fresh, living human soul did not take place, he would not have survived. The unborn baby is not yet conscious, so Kurama’s concsiousness took over completely, but the fusion still occurred...)

Kurama is still Kurama-- but there’s something added, something more. I think the human who would have been born as Shuichi would have been a very gentle person... so some of that got absorbed into Kurama's soul when they merged... and so his current, softer personality is not JUST a cruel demon who got touched by human kindness and had a change of heart... but a fusion of the original yoko’s personality, and the personality of the human boy he merged with. He did have a change of heart, but this was facilitated by him gaining... a new capacity for feelings? in a sense? due to this fusion.

This interpretation I have of him... it makes me feel so much for him...b/c even tho he's...not the same person anymore, he still has the same memories and consciousness; he both is, and isn't, the same person. I think it probably contributes to the guilt and self hatred he feels on some level, which is evident in what he tells Yusuke in the beginning...

It’s true that he said he tried many times to leave throughout his life, to return to his previous life in the demon realm, but it’s also true that he was never able to. His mother’s smile, her sacrifice for him, her genuine warmth and love for him... it moved him, and he decided to stay, and to protect her and the things precious to him now. And I argue that the “human” side of him, the result of a fusion of souls, enhanced his capacity to be moved, weakened his resolve to return to his past life...

When other yokai accuse him of "going soft"... that's not quite what happened...it is, in some ways, but not the full story. Although he is still the ancient, 1000+ year old demon Kurama, and retains all his memories and sense of self... there is still a part of him, a new part, that really IS as young as he looks... one that is gentle, empathetic, kind, and constantly haunted by his past.

In some ways, this added layer of softness can be seen as a fallibility, an exploitable weakness... how convenient, for the cruel and merciless, cold and calculating thief to become “soft”... a soft point, a weak point, where there was only hardness before. But,

Kurama himself believes it is a strength. Although I do think he harbors some level of hidden self hatred, he doesn’t hate this side of himself. In fact, he embraces it, is proud of it, and will fight to protect what he has now with his life on the line. He has found people and things he wants to protect... he’s come to see the beauty of the human world around him, even the mundane... he’s come to see the beauty and power in something as simple and fragile as a rose.

And the important people in Kurama’s life(e.g. Hiei), unlike the yokai who jeer and mock him, also see this part of him as a strength and not a weakness, and accept him as who he is today.

Kurama has a war in his heart... and this inner conflict and duality makes so much sense with the fusion interpretation. Itsuki makes this observation:

“affection” and “carnage”... two sides of himself, at war... consistent with his past life of violence and cruelty, and the gentle human soul he merged with that literally made him a different person... But again he’s still “Kurama”; he’s 100% yokai, not a human, and he remembers everything.

This headcanon of mine is why it doesn’t really feel right to me when I see people joke that Kurama’s just an old guy hanging out with a bunch of kids (like that steve buscemi meme lol). Again, in my interpretation... in some ways he IS just a teenage boy... even though he’s 1000+... which is why it makes sense that he genuinely enjoys having friends his “own age”... it’s more than just a facade of pretending to be a kid, I think.

And I mean...just look at him. HE...... IS BABIE 🥺🥺🥺

TL;DR I see the current Kurama as literally being a fusion of souls, literally “not the same Kurama” as before, and this colors the way I interpret him haha,,,

.............................

OK THIS POST IS ALREADY LONG AS ASS, WHY NOT MAKE IT EVEN LONGER BC THERE’S SMTH ELSE i WANTED TO POINT OUT

This might be unique to the anime, but it fits in nicely with my headcanon... In the original Japanese cast, Kurama(as Shuichi) is voiced by Megumi Ogata, and the Yoko Kurama of the past is voiced by Shigeru Nakahara (i.e., when he appears in the dark tournament, and in subsequent flashbacks to Kurama’s past). However, when Kurama transforms into his yoko form on his own in the Chapter Black arc, not by the influence of the potion that literally turns back time...he keeps his Megumi Ogata voice even in that form... whereas in flashbacks he's consistently voiced by Shigeru Nakahara. ITS A REALLY NICE TOUCH....and it confirms what he says when he's like i haven't actually reverted back, my body just transformed due to my heightened yoki.

And not only his voice, he even looks different... his yoko form is given a slightly different design in Chapter Black arc. In the dark tournament, his outfit is sleeveless, he has frayed eyebrows, and his ears are smooth.

In black chapters... for some reason they started giving him sleeves

and more solid eyebrows...

and raggety ears? vs smooth

(SO CUTE I LOVE THEM...)

These differences are shown in this production note from the anime, indicating that this was a conscious design choice in the anime:

(I can’t read the text, but I see that episode #90 is specified in the right pic, which is the ep Kurama transforms into his yoko form in Black Chapters)

Anyway, these are very subtle details, but to me they’re another indicator that even in his yoko form he's not the same Kurama as he was before...!

OK THAT WAS LONG AF BUT I’M DONE NOW I THINK......... enjoy these kuramas before u go ^_^

#fluffprattle #yu yu hakusho #kurama #holy shit that was long #i am so sorry #ANYWAY..........#i dont even know if this was comprehensible or not HITS SEND #KURAMA I WOULD FUCKIGN DIE FOR U

247 notes · View notes

angsteraser · 4 years

Text

Clarke Griffin Modern AU

Reposting from my Instagram @allthings_.books

• Almost all the Clarke AU’s I read have her as a doctor – but I prefer thinking of her as an artist. I feel like yeah, ofc we saw her as a medic on the ground but that’s because she was the only one out of the 100 with the knowledge and background. And on the ark it’s not like artists were needed – she was the daughter of the head medic so it was her natural root. But that doesn’t mean it was a passion.

• But she definitely volunteered at hospitals in her spare time.

• she started out doing a med degree because that was what Abby wanted, and at the time she thought it was what she wanted to. But as she grew up and experienced life outside of the Griffin household she realised art was what she wanted to pursue. So she decided to major in it, and that’s when her mum stopped talking to her. She ended up finishing her medical degree to, because she only had two years left and did enjoy learning everything.

• So if you want to get a rough idea about how I imagine her life to be, maybe picture Lorelai Gilmore – but her incentive to leave wasn’t because of a baby but her degree.

• Coming to how she met everyone. I think during her childhood, she only had Wells as a friend, but then Jaha moved out of their small town and she lost Wells when she was in highschool (they reconnected when she moved out, and he would come to meet her whenever he could and vise versa because GUESS WHAT, no one dies in my world.).

• except Jake, idk I just can’t imagine her dad being alive in my world and her still doing half the things I write. So yeah, he died in a car crash in my head when she was in highschool.

• Throughout highschool she had friends but no one she could depend on. You know the whole ‘we will walk together to the washrooms and sit at the same table, but god forbid we share any valid life detail.’

• Then one night she went to New York to look at universities, and met Murphy at a bar. He was about to get his ass beat but she helped him out and they ended up getting drunk and he let her crash at his apartment.

• Idk I like the idea of her meeting Murphy first.

• She went back home the next day and forgot all about that night.

• So then she gets accepted into university, and for the first few years is doing her med degree, but lives at home and barely interacts with anyone.

• Then when she decides to do an art degree, she gets into a fight with her mother, and ends up moving out and into a dorm.

• THEN she meets Jasper, Monty and Octavia who go to the same university – but she never saw before because they obviously werent in the same department as her and Clarke never hung around the university.

• They helped her settle into the independent life and get her own space and through them she met Raven, Bellamy and everyone else.

• She ofc saw Murphy with them as well and they hit it off again

• Okay now random headcanons that I thought of.

• I can only picture her in like a studio apartment, with BIG windows, a huge living room space. Wood and neutral colours. One bedroom, and a small kitchen that’s apart of the living room.

• And her work EVERYWHERE. She would paint and decorate all her furniture. Design all her pillow covers. She was an artist and proud of it.

• Her living room is her art studio, and has easels and paint and canvas’ everywhere.

• Definitely a night owl™.

• TERRIBLE puns and knock knock jokes.

• Plus she has terrible joke timing.

• But she got really excited when she told a joke so everyone laughed anyway.

• She was ALWAYS cold. Always. Her feet were like ice cubes. But she never wore shoes because they annoyed her feet. And she wouldn’t turn up the heat because it ruined her ‘vibe™’

• big snacker, she’d be the one with all the unbranded, weird ass snacks in her cupboard like idk squirrel shaped onion rings or whatever. Basically my girl took full advantage of the freedom she got after leaving Abbitch.

• But she was always forgetting to eat actual m e a l s.

• sleep schedule? I think the fuck not. The sun came up and went down it was all the same to her.

• She loved animals, especially dogs – but didn’t trust herself to take care of one. Neither did Wells, not after her fourth grade Hamster™.

• She would research about the most random things, just so she was always prepared and well informed for a Debate (Heated Argument*) at anytime.

• Loved board and card games. And was super competitive which goes without saying. She was an UnO chaMp™.

• A tumblr girl™ – either you know what I mean or you don’t. Like yeah she had all the socials – her private school friends back home made them for her. But she didn’t know their usernames or passwords. Her instagram bio still her highschool name in it. But then she could spend hours on tumblr because they were Her People™.

• Loved painting her clothes. Especially her socks. All her socks had her favourite characters on them, ranging from the Bananas in Pajamas and Pippi Longstocking to Monica in FRIENDS.

• Speaking of characters. She had two extremes while watching shows – either she would immerse herself fully in them, analysising every character development, researching every plot hole, ranting about every character on tumblr, or she wouldn’t watch it at all. No in betweens here maam.

• She loved crime shows, and would try and guess the end result before the episode ended.

• Also loved rewatching movies and commenting about how dumb everyone was.

• Physically incapable of turning down a dare ?? rumour has it she’d break out in hives if she did.

• Like she was sensible and practical, she had to be after leaving home when she was like 19 (idk im not good with working out ages) and the only money she had was the cash her dad left her, because Abby is a bitch and cut her off. The money was enough to pay for her art degree (Abby had already taken care of the medical one) – anyways getting off topic.

• Basically she was smart and sensible but say the word Dare™ and she would bunjy jump from her flats window..

• Claustrophobic. Good thing her apartment had that window, huh? (I just really like the idea of Clarke painting in front of a big ass window with the view of New York beneath her. It’s my whole brand rn)

• Coming back to apartments, poor thing never learnt how to lock a door. She was always leaving her door open, and Bellamy (look I have so many Modern Bellarke AU’s but Im running out of room so i’ll give us all just one) would come in with food (because her friends had to feed her if she wouldn’t herself.) and have to shout at her.

• She just kept loosing her keys under her shit so it was either leaving the door open or being locked out all night.

• So ofc, she left the door open.

• had a pillow army™. The fluffy ones, ones shaped as penguins, and doughnuts and various other food items. You couldn’t see much bed, all it was was pillows.

• Her life goal after moving out of her mums and getting an apartment was to keep one (1) potted plant alive (‘that cactus was fa u l t y’)

• has a really old tattered leather journal that was filled with sketches and ideas and reminders she would never remember to check.

• S t i c k y n o t e s on fridges kinda girl™. But all her friends were convinced it was because they looked pretty, because it’s not like she ever CHECKED what she wrote.

• She loved those honk if you’re __ stickers. she’d constantly switch the one on her jeep. (YES the jeep made it into my headcanons, don’t fight it)

• was a ‘blast your music loud and proud kind of girl’

• indie music when she was worked, or painting something that required concentration and a steady hand. Rock when she was jamming out and cooking

• speaking of cooking, my girl can’t cook, okay?. She was a master at breakfast foods and could whip up pancakes that tasted like fairy dust but that was I T.

• because yes, she would follow recipes. To begin with at least. But halfway through she would get bored and *merge* steps and it would all just be a mess.

• She drunk dialed Abby once and said ‘no mum, i’m giving up YOUR dreams’ because she would be damned if she couldn’t live out her Disney fairytale when the opportunity was r i g h t there.

• As for work, she had a part time job in the book store near her flat at night. In the day she would paint, and a lot of her work sold for top dollar. Her parents circle were her first few clients, and as they spread the word she found her career taking off.

• She hated being still and not doing something. So when she wasn’t painting, or hanging out with her friends, or at work, she would volunteer at the local hospital.

• But no matter how hard they tried to get her to actually w o r k there, she wouldn’t.

But like, she would also *volunteer* all night if need be, and all the staff treated her like she was actually working there idk lol this probably makes no sense but it’s clear in my head and I love it.

• The Delinquents (yeah, they call themselves that. Octavia is a softhearted rebel™) always ended up crashing at her apartment (because her door was always unlocked) and she loved painting them while they had movie night together, or stayed up late baking.

• All their apartments were full of paintings she did from their time together that they liked.

• OH THEY DEFINITELY WATCHED THE VOICE OR AMERICAN IDOL OR S O M E T H I N G LIKE THAT TOGETHER –

• wait I can see this so clearly. NONE of them could sing except Harper

• but that didn’t stop them from rating everyone elses voices and shouting at the judges for their decisions.

• now I am having group flashes oop -

#clarke griffin #the 100 #the 100 au #clarke griffin au #clarke griffin modern au #basically angstless clarke #a concept we all need #i have SO many more ideas #like all their friendships and shit #my headcanons arent e n d i n g

4 notes · View notes

razorblade180 · 5 years

Text

Lasting Embers part27: Winding down

The fifth day of final family bonding is in full effect. Midday sun shines down on Tenzen’s back yard where him and both his parents currently are. Friday’s were usually days when they decided to use the grill so why change up the tradition now? Might as well go a bit grander than usual, which is exactly what they did.

Mercury:*flipping burgers* Thanks for the invitation you two. It’s nice to have a moment of peace.

Emerald:Not to mention good food. Constantly going around the world is fun and all but you do not always end up near good restaurants.

Nora:*wearing an apron* No problem you two. The food would be better if Ren was helping but as you can see.....

Tenzen:*fully powered and standing still*

Ren:*watching him*

Nora:He’s busy at the moment.

Emerald:I don’t mind the light show. It’s actually kinda pretty.

Orange and pink aura flow upward into the air as usual when his semblance is in use. The added effect of lightning of the same color crackles calmly around his body thanks to his close and once again his usual appearance has had a color swap. Nora honestly thinks the pink hair with an orange strip looks better on him. Not to mention his orange eyes.

Mercury:You know it might be a good idea to change your semblance name before you go to beacon and everyone sees it.

Tenzen:What’s wrong with Overflow? It’s literally what my aura is doing.

Mercury:Yeah but is it cool? There’s other things you could call it to make it slightly cooler. Like Over Soul....

Nora:Limit Break!

Emerald:Soul Surge.....

Ren:Oooo that’s a good one.

Tenzen:Hey! I thought you were gonna be on my side?

Ren:It was just a thought. You ready to attempt your new move?

Tenzen:*shakes out his arms and legs* All right, let’s see if I’ve improved.

He takes a deep breath and puts his hands together. Slowly his aura stops flowing up and starts concentrating itself behind him. Everybody watches intently as it starts to take the shape of a silhouetted version of himself. It increases in a size a bit bigger than him and starts moving independently before fading away. Sweat drips down the poor boys face.

Ren:You got it to move and last longer this time.

Tenzen:*huff* Yeah but it isn’t near perfect yet. Man....*huff* I usually don’t have too much trouble with aura manipulation.

Ren:Nobody has ever done anything like you are right now. I’m learning new things just by watching you.

Mercury:Uhh what did I just see? It was almost like seeing monkey boy’s semblance but more intense.

Nora:Tenzen as exceptional aura control and can use it ways most people can’t thanks to his semblance. He’s moved it around freely in small ways like wrapping it around people for protection or to grab them. Now he’s actually trying to mold it into things.

Mercury:So you choose yourself?

Tenzen:It’s both the easiest and most complex thing I can think of right now. After that maybe I could get crazy with it.

Mercury:.....

Mercury:You gave yourself a Stand.....

Tenzen:Why would you say something like that..?

Emerald:As far as semblances go I think Tenzen might have the weirdest I’ve ever seen. I mean your aura seems boundless yet you still run out like everyone else.

Tenzen:I like to think of it sort of like a stamina bar. Let’s say my regular bar reaches up to 100% and my aura ranges in between that number and zero. My semblance breaks that cap and makes my aura amount 500%. Yeah it gives me way more to work with but instead of my semblance just eating away at my aura, it eats away at the bar itself. So when it’s all said and done, I can end up with a bar that can only hold 25%

Emerald:Sounds tricky; you’ll end up only being able to take minimum damage if that happens. Is that what happened in the woods?

Tenzen:Basically, I’m surprised what aura I had held up against me falling from the cliff. What makes things scarier is I knew even with Jaune around to use his semblance it wouldn’t help much. We’ve tested it before and it would restore the aura but not the bar; that only comes back with time.

Mercury:Yet despite all of that you rushed in to save everyone. Risky move but respectable.

Nora:Please don’t make that habit.....

Tenzen:Mmmm no promises. *smiles*

Nora:*grumbles* Why are you like me?

Ren:Alright, you seem like you still have more than enough power to attempt your other move.

Tenzen:*Grinning* Oh we’re way pass me “attempting” it. I was actually going to try it in training but then all the cult shenanigans happened.

Emerald:(Shenanigans, he makes it sound like it’s not the craziest thing in the world. Well....it kinda isn’t but still)

Once a again he takes a calming breath before bending his right arm and stares at his hand. Aura and lightning dust travel down to his palm until his hand is engulfed in it.

Tenzen:Done.....

Ren:How!? When did you- *smiles* it took me forever how to influence my aura with dust. You really are a genius at this stuff.

Tenzen:Well it helps I have the best teacher ever. *powers down*

Nora:Wow, I see how it is. Not like we spent countless nights together sparring and perfecting that together.

Tenzen:That’s because you’re the best mom ever. *hugs her* I love you!!!!!

Nora:I love you too my little ninja.

“You still go by little ninja?”

Everyone turns to see Yujin walking into the backyard. She has a white sack over her shoulder.

Yujin:Sup sherbet head.

Tenzen:First of all, that nickname can die. Second, why are you here?

Yujin:Want me to leave?

Tenzen:I didn’t say that at all. Just surprised is all.

Yujin:Home is a little.....lonely. I tell dad to spend time with Yang and sitting on my porch gets old. So I thought “why not go see Tenzen?”

Tenzen:*smirks* So you’re here for me?

Yujin:*red* Don’t make this weird.

Ren:Well obviously you are welcomed here anytime.

Mercury:Too bad you didn’t bring any food to this little cookout.

Yujin:*pulls chips out the bag* I know how Friday’s work around here.

Mercury:New favorite person right here. Besides Emerald of course.

Emerald:Nice save dork.

Yujin:I hate to ask but is there any chance I can inspect all of your weapons?

Tenzen:*squints* I know your game.....

Yujin:*nervous* Pfft what game?

Tenzen:Did you come here to socialize or get weapon ideas?

Yujin:.......Can’t it be both?

Tenzen:Will it?

Yujin:*grabs his arms* Let me tinker around with my weapon please? If I have one more emotional conversation I might fall apart. Do you want me to fall apart in your backyard? I’ve learned to cry really easily the pass five days. I’m holding back tears right now man!

Tenzen:......

Yujin:*tearing up*....

Tenzen:Oh you weren’t joking! Uhh fine, just-

Yujin:Thanks!

Just like that she emptied what was left in the bag to reveal a sketch pad and some intricate tools for salvaging whatever she can from her sword. By the time he looked back up at her she had her hair in a ponytail and glasses on.

Yujin:I already know where you guys keep all your weapons so....*darts off*

Emerald:How does she know that?

Tenzen:Don’t ask me. Maybe her real semblance is sniffing out weapons. At least she’s happy.

Nora:How has she been about all this? Her face looks kinda paler than usual. Also a bit thinner?

Tenzen:She actually looked worse a few days ago.Looks like things are getting a bit better but I’m worried it might not stick. After all, leaving day is soon. That’s gonna hard on her.

Nora:Don’t forget yourself....

Brief silence comes after that statement. All adults looking at him sadly as he just looks at the ground for a moment. The mood changes though when he raises his head with a smile.

Tenzen:I’ll be just fine! Sure I’ll miss all you guys but honestly school might keep me busy and you all will be back before I know it. I am looking at some of the most capable fighters in Remnant after all.

Mercury:*wraps arm around him and Emerald* Thanks kid, the cult won’t know what hit em!

Emerald:Hell yeah! *all three laughing*

Nora:*frowning at Ren*.....

Ren:I know. He’s not gonna talk about it though. I’ve tried everything.

Nora......!!! We’re not completely out of options yet. I gonna go check on Yujin.

Ren:Please don’t be pushy.

Nora:Mmmmm no promises. *smiles*

Inside Yujin was having a field day. Her house was nothing quite like there’s seeing how the entire building actually uses to house other people like an apartment studio. Now different floors have different functions. Their living room and kitchen were connected on the first floor since it was more than big enough. The spiral staircase upstairs led upstairs to a hallway with rooms for four people which she always found weird. Two of course were their rooms and at best a third round would occupy Merc and Em. Maybe the fourth room was for her or Jaune if they visited? She could not imagine sleeping under the same roof as Tenzen; especially with what happened recently. There was a final door upstairs that obviously was the restroom.

Nora:Hey Yujin can we have a minute to chat!?

Yujin:I’m on the dance floor!

Nora:*going upstairs* You know we do more than dance up here right?

Yujin:I know, but anytime Tenzen sends a video of him doing a routine it’s in here.

She was setting on the floor with her sketch pad. Different designs of everyone’s weapons over the years were set in front of her.

Nora:Woah, you found all of them.

Yujin:From Beacon days, the fall, Salem quest modifications, post Salem, etc. they are all so similar but different. I’m hoping one of these will spark an idea. Transforming weapons was never my finest skill set. Made too many moving parts or not enough to help. *Sketching*

Nora:Turning a sword into gauntlets sounds rough. Why not just make gauntlets with hidden blades.

Yujin:My sword skills depend on me being to do things like twirl it and hold it backhanded sometimes. Merging the two limits that. I need to find away to fluidly transition in between them. The way Ren’s blade retract in is giving me a few ideas but not much.

Nora:(I don’t think I’ve seen so many sketches for one weapon since Jaune tried to change his.)

Yujin:Maybe I should forget the gauntlets all together? Sigh, not like they’ve been useful.... *slumps shoulders*

Nora:....Are you-

Yujin:It’ll pass, don’t worry about me. *keeps sketching*

Nora:Yujin I have a favor to ask you.

Yujin:Sure thing Mrs.Valkyrie.

Nora:You know you can just call me Nora?

Yujin:I know, but I like saying your last name since it’s cool.

Nora:*smiles* I would say call me Auntie but that might be weird since you’re crushing on my son.

The pencil breaks as she accidentally put too much pressure on it. Why is she always getting caught off guard like this? It’s like the entire world is trying to make her deal with at least one emotional problem a day. Blood rushes to her face and her ears turn red as memories from two days ago surface.

Yujin:I....*mumbles* Tenzen is just a friend....

Nora:I wonder how many times I said that about Ren? Admitting it helps a lot you know? *smirking* I’m not saying go confront him about it; I realize how much of a flirt my wild child is. Personally I blame all his fans.

Yujin:I cannot tell you how many people I see wearing a shirt with his mask on it. “Nobody dances like TZ!” It’s like everyone goes a bit crazy for him and they don’t even know him.

Nora:His personality and energy are very infectious. A people pleaser like him knows how to keep spirits up. That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you.

Yujin:???

Nora:It might not be noticeable but Tenzen also has his hangs up like you.

Yujin:Really? He seems fine and calm about most things that happen. It honestly makes me a bit jealous seeing him handle stress so well.

Nora:He gets that from his father. Still he has them for sure. My son is just the type to put his problems on the back burner and prioritize everyone else. Problem is he never takes a moment to himself and faces them until it’s a bit late.

Yujin:Huh, I had no idea. Actually, the other day I did mention how much I admired how strong he was compared to me in situations and he was about to say something until he got cut off. Can’t say if it was about his problems but he did seem....sad.

Nora:Listen, I doubt he’ll tell anyone how he feels about everything going right now but I do know they’ll come out eventually when it’s too late. Can you just make sure to check in on him sometimes when we leave? I want him to have a person to talk to when he needs it.

Yujin:Oh of course! Can’t say I can really picture him needing my help much but I’ll be there.

Nora:*smiles* That’s a relief. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if he suffered in silence after we left. My heart wouldn’t take it.

Yujin:......Nora, you’re a good mom.

Nora:Yang is better, or at least in my opinion.

Yujin:Agree to disagree.

Nora:Not even going to entertain this conversation huh?

Yujin:Not in the slightest.

..........

Nora:.........It’s not really my place to pry but I hope you know she loves you and right now the things you’re doing are really hurting her-

Yujin:She’s hurt me my whole life!

The entire room echoes with that yell. Nora just stares calmly as the girls anger quickly vanishes as it came.

Yujin:Sorry I.....I didn’t mean to yell at you. That was wrong.

Nora:It happens. *grabs her hand*

Yujin:Why does it feel like people are taking sides? *trembling* The way everyone keeps praising her and just wants me forgive makes it feel like I’m wrong for acting this way. Everyone seems to be on her side while I’m just alone.

Nora:Trust me when I say nobody thinks you’re wrong for being upset. It’s just we know Yang and that she is doing everything she can and more for you. We want you to see that. Leaving you a second time is killing her but sometimes hard choices have to be made. Even if that choice feels wrong. You know about Pyrrha right?

Yujin:Of course, without her I might not even be here.

Nora: For a long time her sacrifice didn’t feel like the right call. Going off to a fight she couldn’t win felt like nothing but a waste; especially to Jaune. Looking back on it though we couldn’t have been more wrong. Pyrrha gave people precious time to keep evacuating and Ruby might not have found out about her powers without her help. That dragon certainly would’ve done more harm.

Yujin:.....

Nora:I’m not saying you have to forgive your mother right now. But I do hope that one day you can look back at all this and take some sort of pride from the fact that she’s doing it to protect everyone; including you most of all. By the way *smiles* I think the gauntlet part of your weapon is one of the coolest parts.

Yujin:Nora, can I ask you for something? It’s...*red* a bit strange. You’re not my mom but.....I mean I would like it if you-

Nora calmly pulls her into a hug. Allowing the girl to just rest into her embrace. Her heart rate starts to speed up and her breath a little heavy. She’s crying into Nora’s shirt heavily with no signs of stopping.

Yujin:How’d you know?

Nora:It’s all I ever wanted as a kid too.

Yujin:The worst part about this feeling is it won’t last. You’re leaving too.

Nora:*tightens hug*(You poor child. )

[Tai’s house]

Ruby:Downloading and uploading countless videos across different scrolls and onto a computer is one thing. Putting those files in chronological order, making sure they aren’t corrupted and then onto a scroll with enough space is an entirely different ball game. People who use computers for a living have my respect.

Jaune:You can take a break if you want. We still have two days left.

Ruby:*holds up scroll* I’m done. Do we have coffee?

Jaune:What!?

Ruby:Coffee, I’ve been up for a full day doing this. I would like-

Jaune:You finished with two days to spare? Ruby that’s-

Ruby:I know, “Ruby you’re so amazing!” I appreciate praise but right now I feel like I’m dreaming.

Jaune:Cream and five sugars?

Ruby:Black......

Jaune:*eyes widened*..........who are you?

Ruby:I need a drink that’s gonna slap me in the face. Plus I’m a grown woman.

Jaune:*hands her a mug* So all that’s left is the journal then.

Ruby:Don’t forget to wrap it all up. *sips*....... hey can you put-

Jaune:*hands her another mug* Cream and sugars in it?

Ruby:*red* You suck....

Jaune:You swallow.....

Ruby:But you still kiss me afterwards.*finger gun* damn where’s Yang when I need her? That was a good comeback.

Jaune:*points to the couch*

Yang:*passed out*Zzzzzzz

Ruby:Guess she needed a break too. I hope she can stay awake on look out when we leave. This stress might get to her.

Jaune:Both of you don’t talk much about what happened over the decade. Almost like you’re avoiding it.

Ruby:Not really, wasn’t much to say. Travel, hide, spy, kill, hunt, research.... It felt like a giant manhunt honestly. They were constantly looking for us while we looked for them. Only difference is they also had to spend time progressing their plans. We had some cool fights and close calls. More than I would like.

Jaune:You ready to go back?

Ruby:Ready as I’ll ever be. It’s wrong to say but I think of piece of me was relieved to learn the mission wasn’t over yet. Starting to move forward made me a bit anxious. Am I wrong for that?

Jaune:*shrugs* Consider this a chance to do the mission the right way. You’re the one who said that this time around it’s not about vengeance.

Ruby:That’s right; protecting others are serving justice. Just like it should be.

Yang:*waking up* I’ll drink to that. Someone poor me some cof-*handed a mug*

Jaune:It’s black coffee.

Yang:Is there any other way to drink it? *downs it admittedly*

Ruby:*shudders* That will always freak me out. Good news, the scroll is done. How’s the journal coming along.

Yang:Honestly I do not know anymore. I write but I keep wondering if any of it is actually any good. I’m worried she won’t even read it.

Jaune:She’ll read it. Maybe not in the beginning but she’ll definitely read it eventually.

Yang:I hope so. The other problem is how can anyone express everything they want to say to their kid with just one journal? There’s no time to make another one and everything I write in this one keeps reminding of more things I want to tell her. Before I know it I’m at end of a page and I still haven’t told her everything I think she should hear. *looks at it* Pouring out your emotions onto paper has been more frustrating than fighting Salem.

Jaune:Sigh, what’s with the women in this family struggling with emotions but excelling in combat. All three of you have that same exact problem which is surprising. Tai seems to be fine at sharing feelings and he’s the only DNA link you all share.

Yang:*grumbles*........

Ruby:I think you’ve been thinking of this journal wrong. It’s not meant to replace you or even say farewell. Think of it more as “see you later.” Because you will see her later Yang Xiao Long. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. So stop treating it like it’s the last thing you’ll ever do for her.

Jaune:She’s right. It’s not like you to prepare for the worst. You always plan for the best!

Yang:......

Jaune and Ruby: *smiling*........

Yang:Sigh, who am I to resist a double leader pep talk? *grabs it* better get back to work then.

[Menagerie,Oasis]

Adam:*packing* Jacquelyn can you hand me my flashlight?

Jacquelyn:Here you go. Finally packing for the trip?

Adam:Don’t wanna forget anything last minute. It counts as work but it has to be done.

Jacquelyn:Fair enough. I mean Jael has been packing for beacon for awhile too.

Adam:I’ve noticed, she’s packing like her spot is already guaranteed there.

Jacquelyn:You don’t think she is gonna pass the exam?

Adam:I do, I’m just glad she does too. I’d be concerned if she packed light.

Jacquelyn:It’s weird to think everyone is leaving so soon. Sienna’s missions for the shadows, your mission, Jael’s entrance and initiation exam. Things are going to get lonely around here.....

Adam:I’ve actually been thinking about that. *stands up* what do you say about going on another venture across the world when Jael gets in? You haven’t done that in years.

Jacquelyn:That’s an option. It wouldn’t feel right though. I’ve gotten used to having someone to talk to on those trips. *holds his hand* he was never much for conversation but he kept me company.

Adam:He also tried attacking you a few times.

Jacquelyn:Yeah but I could beat him with one hand tied behind my back; still can. *smirks*

Adam:Oh so you’re that confident.

Jacquelyn:You’re strong my love but face it, I’ve always been too much for you to handle. *rubs his face*

Adam:Sounds like a challenge I just might except. *grabs her waste*

Jacquelyn:Careful, I don’t accept challenges with rewards. I just might have you try to put another baby in me if you lose.

Adam:I’d do that win or lose regardless.

Jacquelyn:Who are you and what have you done with Adam?

Adam:I’m Jacquelyn Frost’s husband *leans closer* so in other words I’m the luckiest man alive.

Both of them start kissing and getting a bit handsy when-

Jael:*red* Ahem!!

Adam:......

Jacquelyn:*grinning* Hi sweetie!!!!

Jael:......Dinner is ready. *slowly walks away*

Sienna:*walks by with her ears covered* You two are gross.

Adam:*face palms* We forgot about the door and their hearing.

Sienna:Speak for yourself. They’re old enough to know to leave the house when this happens. *happily hugging him* I at least wanted to have one fun day out of the week. Don’t tell me I’m the only one who’s thought about it?

Adam:........

Adam:*red* Tomorrow.....

Jacquelyn:You here that you little wild flowers!?

Sienna and Jael:Unfortunately!!!!!

Adam:Let’s go eat dinner.

Jacquelyn:Kay!

55 notes · View notes

yallreddieforthis · 5 years

Text

Impossible Things Ch. 2

Fandom: It Chapter Two, It (2017)

Pairing: Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak

Rating: Explicit (in later chapters)

Words: 3k

Chapter: 1

Also on AO3

An hour later they’ve moved to Skype, all their living friends in boxes on Richie’s laptop screen. Bev is talking over Bill. Ben is sitting right next to her, on the same screen, just staring. Probably at Eddie, but there’s really no way of telling. And Mike is flipping through the pages of a huge stack of notes. He’s been silent for twenty minutes.

From what Eddie has gathered, they all got out of the house and left his dead body inside, which is fine with him because he kinda did the same thing to Richie. Somehow. And then they all went to the quarry and jumped in.

“That’s extremely unsanitary,” Eddie says immediately. “I can’t believe we swam in there as kids, that water is fucking full of bacteria.”

“I knew it! I knew you’d say that,” says Bev, smiling and resting her head on Ben’s shoulder. She sighs. “You’re really here.”

“Wh-What I don’t understand,” says Bill, “why did you come to LA? You told us you lived in New York.”

“What? No,” says Eddie. “I lived there when I was in like my late teens and then moved out and never looked back. I mean, nothing against New York except that’s where my mom was. But I haven’t lived there since I was eighteen.”

“That can’t be right,” Mike chimes in without looking up from his notes. “When I called you, you were definitely in Manhattan. I have both your home and cell numbers; both are 212 area codes.”

“Uh, no,” Eddie whips out his phone, brandishing it in front of the screen. “This is a 323 number. I’ve lived in West Hollywood for like twenty years now.”

“What about your wife?” Richie asks. Sulky, like an sullen kid.

Eddie bursts out laughing because honestly? That’s fucking hilarious. “Funny, Rich. Real funny,” he says.

No one else laughs.

“What’s funny?” asks Ben. “You told us you… What was her name? Myrtle?”

“Myra. She looks exactly like your mom,” says Richie. “Totally your type.”

“Okay, first of all fuck you Richie, that’s disgusting,” Eddie shakes his head. “Also, remember how I’m gay? Like a hundred percent gay. I literally moved here because I wanted to be around more gay guys. I haven’t so much as kissed a girl since I was sixteen.”

No one looks more shocked about this than Richie, which is crazy because Eddie has not been trying to hide it. In fact, he purposely brought it up at Jade of the Orient because as soon as Richie walked in the room he remembered that he used to be super in love with that guy. How does Richie not remember? They spent the whole rest of the evening flirting...or at least it was flirting on Eddie’s part. Maybe it wasn’t on Richie’s.

“Oh hey, me too,” Mike chimes in, almost absently. “Also I think I found something. This is going to sound weird, but--”

“Oh no, not weird!” says Richie. “This weekend has been so normal.”

“We can handle weird,” Ben adds. “Clearly.”

“Alright,” says Mike. He looks up into their faces. “So I think there was a parallel dimension--”

“A what now?” Eddie says.

“I told you it was weird,” Mike shrugs. “So I think what happened was that… remember when we tried to kill It the first time? Back when we were kids.”

“I do now. Vividly,” says Eddie.

“I think we created a rift. You know, like a dimensional split. And then when we killed It again… I think maybe the dimensions merged back together. Or maybe one of them collapsed. Anyway, whatever happened to the other one… I think you got spit into this dimension, Eddie.”

“I’m sorry, did the Shokopiwah tell you about all this shit too?” asks Richie. “Or did you learn this from Doctor Strange comics?”

“I’ve been studying the metaphysical for 27 years,” says Mike, pulling a book out of his pile and ignoring the sarcasm. “Shit gets weird. Much weirder than this.”

“So like, when Eddie died…” Bill starts.

“That Eddie is really gone,” Ben nods, like none of this seems that crazy to him. Ben never seems to have trouble accepting this shit, he was really fucking easy to convince to stay in Derry. “This Eddie… he’s the Eddie we knew as kids, but not the same Eddie we met up with this weekend?”

“Exactly,” says Mike.

“Are you still a goddamn risk analyst?” Richie demands.

“What the fuck is that?” Eddie asks.

“A career invented before fun,” says Richie. “A real snoregasm.”

“So you’re not a risk analyst?” asks Bill, who looks real confused, like he’s having a hard time following what’s going on. “What do you do?”

“Did you guys even know me as a kid?” Eddie cries. “What do you fucking think I am?”

“I knew it!” says Bev, pointing at the screen. “Didn’t I tell you guys he was a doctor?”

“Ohhh! You did say that,” says Bill.

“Too much goddamn school,” says Eddie. “But I went to nursing school like right out of college. I was a pre-med major. I’ve literally been a nurse my entire adult life. I never even seriously considered anything else. That risk analyst shit sounds fucking ridiculous.”

“Hey, listen,” Bill says, almost like he’s snapping out of a haze. “Richie, can you text me your address? I’m in Sherman Oaks, I can be there in like twenty minutes. I just… I want to see you, Eddie.”

“I want to see you too,” says Eddie, because he does. So badly. It feels really good to just say it and not worry about how it sounds. “I want to see all of you. Last time I saw you… I don’t think anyone but me made it out in the other dimension, or whatever it is, Mikey. I think you all died.”

Richie grabs his hand and squeezes it. Whether he’s trying to be reassuring or convince himself that this is really happening, Eddie isn’t sure.

“I’ll be right there.” Bill logs off.

Beverly suddenly sits up straight in her seat. She sets the glass of wine she’s been holding on the table.

“No one who dies in Derry ever really dies…” she whispers.

“What?” Ben turns to face her. His arm is around her shoulders.

“When I went to my old apartment,” she says, “I… It was disguised as this old woman, Mrs. Kersh. She told me that no one who dies in Derry ever really dies. It didn’t make any sense then, but maybe…”

“I’m gonna have to do some more research,” says Mike. “I have to--”

“Mikey, no,” says Ben. “Get out of there. It’s enough. You’ve been killing yourself in that God forsaken town for twenty--”

“I did, I did, I swear!” says Mike. “I’m in an Airbnb in Boston. Look.” He pans his camera around. Very cute, very tasteful. Unlike Richie’s dump.

Eddie thinks about Mike, about him sitting alone in Derry with no one who really understood. Living above the library. Taking care of them from afar for almost three decades. Mike has done so much for them; he essentially sacrificed any dreams he might have had, his entire youth… Eddie remembers young Mike, fresh faced and handsome, daydreaming about Florida. And he gave all of that up. For them.

“I don’t need to know what happened, Mike,” Eddie says. “I’ll just. I guess I’ll just pick up from where Other Eddie left off. You’re all here. That’s enough for me.”

“We’ll come out to LA too,” says Bev, hand on Ben’s arm. “Soon, I promise. We… Things are a little complicated right now, but--”

“Complicated how?” Richie asks. He’s still holding Eddie’s hand. “I thought you two drove off into the sunset and are now fucking happily ever after.”

“Yeah, well… I mean, we are. Happy. Very happy,” says Ben. “But…” He glances sideways at Beverly. She smiles.

“I don’t have secrets from any of you,” she says. “My husband--my ex-husband. Tom. I filed for a protective order for the time being. Hopefully it’ll be granted. We have a hearing soon, but it’s a long process. I had him served with divorce papers this morning. My lawyer told us it’d probably be best for me to stay out of state for now, nowhere he might be able to track me down.”

“So where are you?” Eddie asks. He’d seen bruises on her arms when she’d shown up in Derry and he feels really bad for not connecting the dots before now. He guesses he’s probably forgiven because it’s not like there was nothing else going on, but still. What kind of shitty friend doesn’t say something about obvious belt bruising?

“Cape Cod,” says Ben, beaming. “My beach house. Tom doesn’t know about me yet, so we’re good.”

“Jesus Ben, you have a beach house on Cape Cod?” says Richie. “How fucking loaded are you?”

“Ben, you totally don’t have to answer that,” Eddie interjects, but Ben laughs.

“Well, it’s a good thing we don’t have to worry too much about money,” says Bev, “because I’m not going to fight Tom for Rogan and Marsh. He can just have it. I love designing, but it’s time for a fresh start. Who knows? Maybe I’ll start my own line.”

It turns out, as Bev explains, that although she was the one with a real passion for design and a goddamn fine arts degree, Tom really ended up taking total creative control of Rogan and Marsh. Eddie doesn’t know very much about fashion, but he thinks he has a pretty good idea of what Bev means when she says that Tom decided they’d focus exclusively on clothing with “clean lines and modern silhouettes.” Boring, safe, will sell well amongst wealthy white mommy bloggers.

Eddie remembers what Bev used to wear when they were young. She had unique taste. Whimsical, a little edgy. It seemed like she had maybe six or seven pieces of clothing in total, but somehow an endless variety of interesting outfits. It’s kind of fucked up that she ended up churning out like, Ann Taylor separates instead of getting to put her talents to real use.

“Speaking of um, separations,” Mike says, “Eddie, sorry. You do have a wife.”

“There’s literally no way,” Eddie says, shaking his head. “I don’t care what dimension or whatever, no way I was straight.”

“No one said that,” says Richie. “Just that you were stupid enough to marry a woman anyway. I Facebook stalked her when we were back in Derry.” Why…?

Richie lets go of Eddie’s hand to pull up Facebook on his phone and types in Myra Kaspbrak and then…

“Oh...my god. I married my mother.”

“Yeah, ya did,” says Richie, nodding. “I kept saying I wanted to fuck your mom but apparently not as much as you did.”

Myra’s Facebook page is not exactly a fountain of useful information, although she is an active Young Living essential oils distributor so she’s clearly a fan of multi-level marketing schemes and junk science, which is a red flag to say in the least.

And sure enough… Married to Edward Kaspbrak. There he is. There’s even a wedding picture with an extremely wide and extremely fake grin plastered on his face. Big yikes.

“Well, I have a great divorce lawyer if you need one,” says Bev.

“Yeah,” says Eddie, scrolling past some posts Myra made in a Homeowners Association group about neighborhood paint color regulations. “Yeah, Bev, can you send me that number?”

What a dumpster fire. It’s so bad he can’t even look away. She hits like every facet of human unpleasantness. Like just a giant ball of traits that Eddie can’t stand. Sanctimoniously Christian. Way too concerned about other people’s decorating schemes. Chronic vagueposting. Belief that you can prevent cancer with lemon juice in water. Minion memes.

How is he even going to go about dumping this lady? He knows nothing about their relationship except that it had to have been a farce.

How fucking deep in the closet was he? Because if Mike got it right and he’s the same person existing in two different dimensions—which is crazy as shit, although in fairness his bar for crazy shit has been raised pretty fucking high in the last three days—his gay ass was somehow fucking this woman of his own free will.

“What am I even going to tell her?” he wonders aloud.

“Oh that’s easy,” says Richie cheerfully. “Hey Myra, I met up with my friends from middle school and remembered that I’m gay. We’re getting divorced.”

The further Eddie scrolls down her Facebook, the less concerned he is about hurting her feelings, to the point where when she misquotes Marilyn Monroe with that if you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best bullshit, he decides then and there that Richie’s suggestion is good enough.

“I have her number, Eddie, if you want to call her,” says Mike.

“Yeah,” says Eddie. “I guess I’m gonna have to. But not tonight, it’s too late. Tomorrow.”

There’s a knock at the door.

“Also, uh,” says Richie, “are we not going to talk about the fact that both Eddie and Mike are gay?” He cranes his neck toward the door. “Hey Bill!” he shouts. “You gay too, man?”

“Am I what?” Bill calls back. Eddie rolls his eyes, then gets up to open the door for Bill.

Bill has his arms around Eddie before he even has a chance to take a breath. He buries his face in Eddie’s shoulder.

Richie blinks at them. “I said are you gay?”

Bill doesn’t even look up. “No, I’m bi. I did a whole exposé about it last year in Vanity Fair, it was at like all the grocery stores in the country. Why do you ask?”

“Because I think we’re all turning into the Village People.” says Richie. “I call Randy Jones.”

“You would,” says Eddie, hugging Bill back just as fiercely. That was… That means Richie is gay too, right? Or bi or something. He didn’t say it exactly like that but he also didn’t exclude himself from the group. Luckily, Bill gets up the courage to pry before Eddie can overthink it too much.

“Wait so I think I missed something,” he says. “Eddie said he was gay earlier, I’m bi…”

“I’m gay,” Mike pipes up.

“Oh really?” says Bill, disentangling himself from Eddie and looking very extremely interested all of a sudden. “I didn’t know that.”

“I just,” Mike chuckles, “I just kind of felt like we had bigger things to worry about at the time.”

Bill sits on the couch and looks like he’s about to answer, a smile at the corners of his mouth, when Richie butts in by elbowing him in the side.

“Well shit man,” Richie says. “I wish we’d all just started up that dinner by stating our names and who we like to fuck. I spent the whole time fucking terrified someone was going to figure out… Ben, Bev? You got anything to tell us?”

Eddie really wishes he would’ve finished that sentence. Even though like, realistically, he knows what’s coming. Richie likes men. Whether exclusively men or men and others… he has a chance.

“I got nothing,” says Ben with a shrug. “Sorry guys. I’m straight. Bev?”

“I’m bi too, actually,” says Beverly. Ben looks surprised for a split second and then kisses her on the cheek. She smiles at him. “This is the first time I’ve ever said it out loud though. My ex-husband… He-- Let’s just say he wouldn’t have been supportive.”

“Wow,” says Richie. “He sounds like a dick.”

“So does Eddie’s wife,” says Bev.

“Eugh.” Eddie grimaces. “Please don’t call her that. I didn’t marry her. And I’m going to un-marry her as soon as possible.”

Bill’s phone buzzes. He pulls it out and winces, types a reply.

“Uh oh,” says Richie. “Someone’s sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“I’m guessing your wife wasn’t too happy with you for just taking off, was she?” asks Mike.

“Actually,” says Bill, rubbing the back of his neck, “she was less mad about that and more about how I told her I was moving out as soon as I got back.”

“Oh wait, what?” says Eddie, turning to face him. “You too?”

“Boy do I know the club for you, Bill,” says Richie. “Maybe your lawyer will start giving you a discount for referrals, Bev.”

Eddie smacks him on the arm. “Fuck you, bro.” Richie grins even wider.

Bill sighs. “I just… I mean, can any of you imagine being married to someone that doesn’t know what you did this past weekend? Who’s never going to understand or even believe you?”

“Absolutely not,” says Eddie.

“But seriously,” Richie adds, “wouldn’t it be funny if you like all had the same divorce lawyer? You could have alimony brunches and shit.”

“I don’t think I really need a lawyer,” says Bill, shaking his head. “We had a pretty airtight prenup. She doesn’t need my money or anything, and I’d obviously give her whatever if she did. It’s not her fault she doesn’t… Anyway, yeah. I don’t really want to go home. Even though I really should keep packing.”

“Well,” says Richie, “as the French day, mi futon es su futon—”

Eddie can’t help himself. “Pretty sure no one says that—”

“Really?” Bill’s face lights up. “Thanks, Rich. I could get a hotel or something but… I don’t know. I don’t feel like being alone right now.”

“I feel that,” says Mike, nodding.

Bev’s head drops to Ben’s shoulder. “And as much as I hate to get off the phone,” he says, “I think we’re falling asleep over here. Would it be weird to just like stay on Skype until we all fall asleep?”

“I don’t know, is it weird that all I can think about is the next time I get to see all of you?” asks Bill.

“Is it weird that I feel like puking right now listening to you guys?” asks Richie.

#reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #ben hanscom #bill denbrough #mike hanlon #beverly marsh #post-canon #fix it fic

52 notes · View notes

songsofacagedbird · 4 years

Text

Hello, I’m Katie, this is my sunshine daughter Balo, and you’re watching Disney Channel! Jokes aside though, I’m so excited to bring Balo back and while not much has changed (truly this is nothing more than a continuation where I only omit plots my partner doesn’t want to revive), have a new intro / bio anyway because... I felt like it ok. I’ll be good and not ramble too ungodly long though so without further ado - another one of my excessively long intro posts:

TWs: Child Abuse / Abuse, Alcoholism (not Balo’s, but her dad’s), Eating Disorders (anorexia nervosa)

Is that BALIAN “BALO” DRISKELL? Wow, they do look a lot like CANDICE SWANEPOEL. I hear SHE is/are a SEVENTEEN year old JUNIOR who originally attended LUXOR Academy. Word is they are a(n) REGULAR student. You should watch out because they can be NAIVE and SENSITIVE, but on the bright side they can also be OPTIMISTIC and BUBBLY. Ultimately, you’ll get to see it all for yourself. [KATIE, 23, EST, SHE/HERS]

Last Edit: 8/26/2020

★ basics;

Full Name: Balian “Balo” Grace Driskell Age: 17 Birthday: February 7th, 2003 at 08:06 am Sexual Orientation: Balo really doesn’t label it (although I like to say bisexual, biromanitc to make my own life easier), she always just falls for who she falls for regardless of gender. If you ask her exactly, she’d probably say MOGAI though. Relationship Status: Kinda dating Caitriona but it’s unofficial Occupation: Student Nationality: American

★ classes;

Communications

French

Geometry

U.S. History

Fashion design

Visual Art

Pilates

★ extracurriculars;

Arts Club (Member)

Balo also used to be a Cheerleader (Flyer) and part of the Gymnastics team but due to her leaving / concerns about her health, she was required to step down, much to her devastation.

★ background;

Place of Birth: Rochester, New York Hometown: Saratoga Springs, New York Health Issues: Eating Disorder (Anexoria) Traumas: Abuse (Constant/Ongoing - from her father)

★ physical;

Faceclaim: Candice Swanepoel Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Blonde Height: 5′11” -- not at fc height because I don’t wanna change her height with the new fc Weight: 120 lbs - give or take Tattoos, Birthmarks, Scars, etc: Nothing I find a need to link at the moment.

★ zodiac;

Tropical

Sun: Aquarius Moon: Aries Mercury: Capricorn Venus: Capricorn Mars: Sagittarius Jupiter: Leo Saturn: Gemini Uranus: Aquarius Neptune: Aquarius Pluto: Sagittarius Lilith: Aries N Node: Gemini

Placidus Orb

I ASC: Pisces II: Aries III: Taurus IV: Gemini V: Cancer VI: Leo VII: Virgo VIII: Libra IX: Scorpio X MC: Sagittarius XI: Capricorn XII: Aquarius

★ relatives;

Father’s Full Name: Lance Driskell Father’s Status: Alive Father’s Occupation: Restaurant Owner Mother’s Full Name: Cassandra “Cassidy” Driskell Mother’s Status: Alive Mother’s Occupation: Waitress at a local diner (not Lance’s place) Siblings: 1 older sister and 2 older brothers

Driskell Children Oldest to Youngest:

Ivan Marsden (22, attending school in England)

Grace Driskell (19, in California for school)

Zander Driskell (LINK TO HIS INTRO)

Balo Driskell

Here is a link to the Driskell family page if you’d like to know more about her family.

★ misc;

Hobbies and Talents: Balo’s a sketch artist and painter who tends to focus on realism, in particular realistic humans and animals. It’s her true passion and I have an inspo section for her sketchbook here! She’s also quite flexible and skilled at gymnastics, part of why it’s bothering her she can’t participate currently because she loves it and she’s good at it - making her removal from the team eat at her even more.

Pinterest Section // Musings Tag // Playlist

- Balo’s kind of a literal ray of sunshine who believes (almost) everyone is truly good at heart. While she tries to see the best in everyone, no matter what, she truly can’t see it in her father, a fact she feels extremely guilty over it. - She loves art, sketching and painting especially, and she always dreamed of being some sort of artist. While her mother encouraged it every chance she got, her father is truly a different story. - Balo is very easy to manipulate and I encourage it constantly. - She truly just wants to love and befriend everyone, while it’s not really too hard to make her cry, usually you’ll see Balo running around with a smile trying to brighten everyone’s day. This is an issue because she’ll put everyone around her before herself every time, your happiness is a priority before hers. Again, making her easy to manipulate. (So I welcome manipulating Balo and love it when it occurs, please feel free to do so at any point) - Her best friend / favorite person in the entire world at this point is Logan Keller, mention him only if you really wanna see this girl light up like a 4th of July fireworks show. (They’re still in touch, for those of you who remember him from when Jia was playing him here!) - Balo recently got out of extensive inpatient for her eating disorder so while she’s doing a lot better, she’s really doesn’t want it to be the main topic of conversation either. She's okay and back at Luxor and she feels that’s the most important thing at the end of the day.

★ bio; TWs: Child Abuse / Abuse, Alcoholism, Eating Disorders (anoxeria, weight loss, and complications from both)

“'Cause I know that nothing good comes easy, if it did, I wouldn't be me.”

If there was one quote that fit Balo Driskell’s life to a t, that would be it. Nothing was truly easy in the Driskell’s home, she was the youngest of three children - an amount that her mother never wanted to have, and would do whatever it took to stay at after this point. Anytime her father walked in after work, the stench of alcohol clung to. She could smell it on her breath every time he yelled, each time he threw things, anytime he hit her. One could have easily convinced the young girl that all families were like this, that everyone covered up bruises and pretended they were much happier than they actually were if it wasn’t for her mother.

Perhaps Casandra Driskell never wanted her children, but she loved them with her entire heart. She’d sneak her children money, things they weren’t allowed to have - guitars, paints, canvases, sheet-music, legos, and whatever else her father deemed banning fit at a moment's notice. She wasn’t always around, working a job at the local diner, but when she was she did everything in her power to protect her children. It was never enough, though.

Lance Driskell still hurt his children close to daily, whether it was smashing Grace’s guitar over her head the moment he found it, pulling Balo down the stairs by her hair, or lashing Zander with his belt - there were quite a few times where a Driskell had to go the hospital and the family had to lie through their teeth to keep people from looking too closely at them at their mother’s urging. If it was investigated the three children would be separated, they would lose their mother, or at least that’s what they were told - and none of them wanted that. It became common for one child to intervene for another if they could, Zander especially taking the brunt of the punishments for his sisters.

It was part of loving someone in the Driskell home, trying to keep everyone else safe no matter the cost it had on you.

Her childhood wasn’t all bad, however, there were quite a few silver-linings in the dark cloud called the Driskell home. She had a close friendship with her siblings and her mother, and she has plenty of fond memories with them. Christmas was always peaceful, as her father always took that shift at his restaurant and refused to celebrate the holiday with them - a time where he couldn’t taint the joy inside of the Driskell home. She could paint when her father wouldn’t catch her in the act, something she loved doing (and she still does every chance she gets), and she had Logan. Logan Keller was her next-door neighbor and her best friend. If you saw one of them, the other probably wasn’t too far behind. In many ways, he was her person - someone she felt like she could go to with nearly anything (she could never discuss home with him at this point, of course, but everything else she could and she did).

And then the Driskells moved away and it was like the world was ripped out from under her feet - leaving her spiraling and looking for some sort of control. Her new friend didn’t help matters much either, constantly encouraging her to “shed the weight” they swore she gained. She soon found this sense of “control” in the form of her eating disorder, careful attempts to keep herself as thin as she could, of restricting her food every chance she could. It wasn’t healthy, far from it, but it fulfilled the desire to have some semblance of control over her life.

Sending the children to Luxor had been an easy decision for Cassandra the second the children were able to attend, a way to ship them off to safety while not being too far away from home. While it pained her a first to be away from her mother, eventually she began to understand. She was safe while at school, and at the end of the day, that was what mattered the most to her mother, right? It wasn’t hard to get into the flow of life at the school, staying at school and only coming home for the breaks that the school refused to keep students during. It broke her heart when Lance shipped Ivan to England and told him not to come home (a thought that still pains her to this day), after the boy served his use, and it only grew harder when Grace graduated and moved to California. But she was happy at Luxor, in spite of everything.

And in a way, her love for the school only grew after the merge. Now there were twice as many people to befriend and support, and in the process, she realized something she had been missing had been under her nose for a while. Logan was attending school at Luxor too, and all of a sudden, she had her person in her life again. At the time she felt on top of the world, regardless of the circle beginning to stir up issues.

And then, suddenly, she was knocked right back down to the ground.

First Logan was kidnapped and forced to deliver the message, and then he was forced to go home for personal reasons. The support she had so quickly grown used to having was seemingly being ripped out from her yet again. While he was still in touch, continuing to be her rock, her eating disorder only continued to spiral out of control. And no matter how much she tried to pretend she was fine, it was getting to the point there was no way to really do so. Balo was sick, and now everyone could tell. It was concern from her teachers that helped fuel the chain of events that resulted in getting her help, no matter how much she tried to assure everyone she didn’t need inpatient therapy and that doing outpatient would be fine. After several months of inpatient followed by a bout of “readjustment to the real world” time at home, she’s back at Luxor and as sunshine-y as ever.

TLDR / quick important notes bio recap for rereads: - Balo’s home life is far from perfect. Her father, Lance - is an abusive alcoholic, and while her mother tried her best to protect her children - she also covered things up without hesitation. It wasn’t uncommon to see a Driskell in the ER with a lie and people willing to back up the story. - The lack of control in her life is what led to her eating disorder, in hopes of regaining a (false) sense of control. - She’s been attending Luxor since freshman year, although she recently had to leave for a few months to attend extensive inpatient treatment. And now she’s back to her normal sunshine-esc antics, trying to love everyone, feeding all the strays at Luxor, and trying to spread smiles everywhere she goes.

★ wanted connections;

Friendships

Someone to manipulate her, please I beg you

Um, pretty much anything? She likes everyone cause if you do something to hurt her she does mental gymnastics to come to the conclusion you are a good person and it was an unintended side effect so...yeah. Doesn’t mean your muses have to like her though (I have a lot of fun when they don’t actually, so… don’t worry about hurting the sunshine daughter. Okay?)

Anyone who knows her from the gymnastics and/or cheer teams, as she was on the teams through Freshmen & Sophomore years, and until October of her junior year.

#luxorintro #child abuse tw #abuse tw #physical abuse tw #alcoholism tw #alcohol tw #eating disorder tw

3 notes · View notes

uncultureddirt · 5 years

Text

Beneath Your Hate (Part 1/2) - Lee Donghyuck (Haechan)

~REQUESTED~

Warnings: Language, underage drinking/alcohol, potentially triggering car accident event, angst

“Can you give it up already? It’s the same damn thing every day.”

You watched your friend shovel food in her mouth as she sat across from you. You made eye contact for a moment, just to find your attention drift to the boy sitting a couple tables away.

“Hey,” she snapped in your face, “y/n, I'm right here.”

“Sorry, he's doing it again,” you replied while locking eyes with the boy. You tried to glare, but he only furrowed his brow and looked away.

‘Asshole. Stop looking at me.’

“How are you even phased at this point?” She dropped her plastic fork on the lunch tray and shook her head.

“I don’t know. Maybe if he gave me a reason or- I don’t know.” You looked back over to find his gaze fixed on you again.

“Still staring?” She snorted

“Yup.”

You picked up your tray and walked to the garbage can to throw it out. You could feel his eyes burning holes on the back of your skull. He always did this, your friend was right, it truly was nothing new. That being so, it still did not make you hate it any less. Donghyuck has known you for years and has consistently chosen to despise you. You often find yourself believing there was a time you two were friends, but reality always sets back in and reminds you where you two really stand, at opposite ends. You never could answer the question of why he held onto those cold feelings for you, but he did, and there was nothing you could do about it.

“What is wrong with me y/bf/n?”

“You care too much. He’s a dick, and that's that.”

‘How am I getting out of here?’

Those seven words seemed to find their way into your brain every time you prepared to exit the student parking lot. Leaving your school was a skill you had still yet to master, and one of the hardest tasks you had to endure each day. You sank your back into the old leather seat as you sat in the never-ending line of traffic. The windows were rolled down, letting the cool afternoon air spill in. You almost felt yourself relax, that is until your eyes met a familiar face as you turned towards your left.

Donghyuck.

He sat with his hand draped over the wheel. His head rested back on his seat as the wind lightly played with his hair. You liked the way the idiot looked, and you hated that you did.

The traffic began to loosen and finally, your cars began moving at the same pace next to each other. Though your eyes were fixed on the road, you could feel his gaze fall over you every once in a while.

At last, you felt a wave of relief wash over you; you were able to merge onto the exit ramp. But right as you began to move, you were forced to jam on your breaks because the car next to you aggressively decided to cut you off. Your heart jumped into your throat as you watched Donghyuck’s car nearly graze your own.

“YOU ASSHOLE!” You screamed at his open window after instinctively pressing your horn.

Unbothered. That's how he was. He kept his eyes glued to the road and smiled lightly to himself, feeling satisfied after pissing you off. It's a game he seems to play with you. But it felt unfair, because you never knew when it was your move.

Once you were on the main road, you lost sight of him and found yourself wondering yet once again.

‘Why?’

Really, that's all you could think.

‘Why?’

The confusion was routine, to the point that there was comfort in the pain of not knowing.

The bell rang before you could make it to class, but that was normal. The teacher nodded at you as you walked in, well accustomed to your timing. While you sat down and got out your books you began thinking about the boy behind you. Sometimes you tried to see if he would even try to be civil or how you liked putting it, “testing the waters.”

‘How far can I go before he’ll shut me down?’

You abandoned your notebook filled with messy scribbles of flowers and turned around to face him. He lifted his eyes to meet yours and sighed heavily as you tried to smile at him.

“Hey, did we have an assignment las-”

“Y/n.”

“Yes?”

“Turn around.” His face remained still as he spoke to you. His words were cold and cut through you like a blade.

‘What was I expecting to happen?’

Still, it hurt.

You furrowed your brow and turned back to your notebook and suddenly flowers didn’t seem so appealing anymore. You began drawing weeds.

Mind you, there are two sides to everything. Often times one side is unfathomable to the other. As you sat there scribbling angrily, Donghyuck shook his head. His stomach burned at the sight of your face. He was sickened by the feelings you gave him.

The feelings of those same flowers growing in his lungs, stopping him from being able to say the things he wants to say.

“It's like a really bad carnival ride,” you said looking up at your friend. She sat across from you on your bed, mindlessly scrolling through her phone. You figured she was too kept up in her Instagram feed to pay attention to you, but you continued anyway. “And they won’t let me off. Or more like I can’t get off. It’s one of the really spinny ones that you want to go on, but they also make you feel really sick and-”

“Okay, okay,” she cut you off, “You're talking at a faster rate than you run. Try to relax, alright? I want you to stop worrying, because we're going out in an hour to have fun, and I want you to enjoy yourself too. Okay? We’re leaving at 9.” She stood up and left your room, heading towards the bathroom.

You sighed and turned to face your window. He occupied so much space in your brain. You hated that he hated you. And it just didn’t make-

“And don’t even think about Donghyuck y/n.” She yelled from down the hall.

Basement parties. How is it possible that such a small space can house so much alcohol and so many people? You found yourself wondering that every time you made your way into one. The smell was always terrible, and the noise was quite ear-invasive, yet somehow you found yourself usually having some sort of fun, despite the uncomfortable conditions.

“Y/n! You made it!” One of your friends said as she came forward to hug you.

“Yeah, my week kinda sucked, I was looking forward to this” You smiled while grabbing a cup. You began to fill it with Sprite. As the designated driver tonight, you were obligated to be responsible and clean. You didn’t mind too much, you were a puker anyways. You searched around through the herd of teenagers, your eyes scanning the place. The room was dim despite the abundance of holiday lights strung on each wall. Empty solo cups polluted the ping-pong table and almost all other surfaces. But your visual survey was put on a sudden halt as he came into your vision.

‘No.’ You thought to yourself.

In a clump of laughing boys, there he was, the sweet fluffy-haired sunshine who loved to brighten your day, Lee Donghyuck. He stood with a beer in his hands and was visibly quite drunk. You hated when he was drunk. He was always too loud and even more of an ass than usual. You rolled your eyes at the sight and turned to walk towards your friends.

‘Don’t think about him. Don’t think about him.’

As the party progressed, you felt yourself feeling good. A weight had been removed from the pit of your stomach. His name failed to enter your mind, and you truly felt like yourself again. But for some reason, you had a faint sense that your pleasant state was too dreamlike to be true. And as you were laughing with all of your friends over something you probably didn’t need to laugh that hard about, you noticed something stir in your peripheral vision.

“Hey, y/l/n.” The voice that hit you was slurred and messy. You stiffened, keeping your face forward to try and ignore the body approaching you. “Hey, look at me when I’m talking to you,” it demanded. You turned to view him. His hair fell in front of his eyes and his mouth was fixed in a smug grin.

“I don’t remember hearing you were coming,” he started, “I wouldn’t have shown up if I knew.” His voice failed to remain consistent and audible, it was loud, but it was scattered. He inched towards your face until you could smell the alcohol fumes on his breath.

“Can you just leave me alone?” You replied back, keeping your eyes locked on his. You were all too sick of his shit. Your anger was peaking at this moment and you were struggling to restrain yourself from causing a scene.

“Can you just go home?”

“No.” You stood there breathing heavily. The music around you seemed to smudge into a noise similar to static. Your face twitched as you remained face to face with him. The next couple of seconds occurred in a fashion you could never fully comprehend. It was as if he moved in slow motion, but yet at a pace so quick you couldn’t react. Donghyuck’s arm raised and titled his half-full beer bottle over your head. The cold liquid poured down your face and back, soaking you entirely. You felt the confusion rise in the room and the attention fall on the two of you.

Should we laugh? What just happened?

Your eyes began to glass over. You hated him. You hated every part of him. You no longer wondered why things were the way they were because it didn’t matter anymore. You didn’t want to fix things. The only thing you wanted was to leave. And with that, you pushed past him and headed out of the house, sprinting once you were outside.

What the fuck just happened in there?

You were in disbelief. You stood in front of your car door shaking and fumbling with your keys. You placed the key in the door to unlock it but froze before you could move any further. Squinting slightly, you looked in the window and stared at the girl looking back at you. Her hair was soaked and matted to her head. Her mascara dripped in streaks down her cheeks. Her eyes looked sad and broken. You hated how she looked, you hated how she felt. You hated that he could do this to you.

Once you got into the car, you slammed your door shut. Maybe internally, you felt it would help to relieve some of your pent up frustration. Sadly, you felt the same.

You sat in the car and began to loudly sob while pulling out of the driveway. Your chest ached as tears poured down your face. You sat drowning in the smell of beer, and the feeling of disgust.

‘How could one night go so wrong?’

“WHY?” You screamed to no one in particular, slamming your hands on the wheel. The outside world began to fly by you. You were breaking fifty miles on the empty back roads of a neighborhood you barely recognized and dark streets began to wind as your vision clogged. Though through the pain you failed to recognize your mistakes. His stupid face flashed through your brain and you yelled aloud over and over again, almost as if he could hear you.

With each cry, you sank your foot further into the gas and before you could control it, the car began to drive itself. You became a passenger in this vehicle. You weren’t the one driving it.

‘Fuck.’

Reality found you, and you began to panic. You glanced at the dashboard reading the red numbers. How had you managed to reach that speed? Since when were you going that fast? You quickly tried to press your foot on to the brakes, but nothing happened. It was as if all your knowledge on driving was lost, your brain empty from the existential dread that began to wash over you.

Your car hurdled itself forward into the night, completely on its own terms. Your mind was racing and you felt your heartbeat match the speed of your car as you helplessly flailed, trying to regain control of the car. Tears dripped down even faster as you continued to press on the failing brake pedal.

‘How do you use the emergency brake in this car?’

“Please. Come on. Please” you began to speak aloud to yourself, your voice shaking.

‘I'm going to die tonight.’

Those words plagued your mind.

‘I'm going to die tonight.’

You pressed even harder on the break, but nothing happened.

Slowly you saw light drape along your face. And then you felt it. You were thrown entirely from your seat and hit the side window, feeling glass break around you. It all became black. And at first, you felt everything, everything you hit, every piece of glass breaking into your skin, but then, you felt nothing.

Your body lay lifeless under a flipped car and in your final conscious moments, you found yourself breathing out the one name your brain wanted to blame.

“Donghyuck.” Your inaudible voice tried to say.

How can an event happen in the blink of an eye, but leave enough pain to last a lifetime? One can’t measure pain by time, but only how deep it cuts.

Your life was in strobe lights for the next hours. Every now and then, you would break into reality, hearing sirens, and seeing light, but within seconds you would fall back into a silent void, vacant of life.

To be continued...

Part 2

#NCT #haechan #haechan imagine #haechan scenario #nct scenarios #nct imagines #lee donghyuck #haechan angst #nct angst #HELLO EVERYONE #thank you all for waiting #it means SOOOO MUCH #here is part one!!!#part two will be coming very VERY soon!!#ok LOVE you all heheh #g writes

95 notes · View notes

agentaw · 6 years

Text

Detroit: Become Human - Funny story...

Okay... so Story Time because my friends pointed this out and it’s been fucking with me ever since.

This is the story of how I kinda...sorta wrote/ predicted parts of DBH about...2 years ago. Just hear me out...okay?

So this all started similarly to how DBH started, with that dope-ass demo back in 2012. My 15 year old self became enthralled in it, much like I am now enthralled in the full game. I’ve always loved story telling and had a sort of soft spot for digital modelling. So that demo was a masterpiece to me, it had a great concept and beautiful design. It was a short obsession but it had an impact.

And that was the last piece of news I’d ever hear about it until a month after they released the full game. I remember hearing some rumour that they weren’t gonna make it a full game or something and left it at that. I didn’t hear anything about it’s coverage at E3 because while I like video games, I become absorbed in different obsessions from time to time.

And two years ago I was obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons, the thought of creating a whole world and having others enter it was fascinating. And while I tried to create worlds from scratch, I had a problem.

I had never been too interested in Fantasy things, I liked fantasy characters but tended to focus on too much of the political aspect of fantasy worlds and not the fun stuff like slaying dragons and stuff.

The return of an old obsession began to try and take my focus off of DnD but I wasn’t ready to let it go yet.

So I merged them, DnD didn’t have to be fantasy, I didn’t have to invent a world from scratch and luckily my old obsession had a world pre-designed. Marvel, specifically MCU had a treasure trove of lore and I could take a number of rules from DnD 5e and tweak them to suit the change in genre.

So I started off with a one shot campaign, set in a HYDRA base. My three player characters would be playing themselves and making decision based on how they’d react. They ‘woke up’ in a white plastic robot body. Singular, all three were in the same body, looking through the same eyes and rolling for control over said robot body. It was entertaining to watch them figure out what they hell was going on organically. They quickly met the first NPC an old doctor/sciencist who was a very nervous person. He explained that they’d all been loaded into the same body by accident and that he was just testing out that his creation (the body itself) was working correctly. So my players decided to answer the jumpy doctors questions and let one of them take control as the doctor got them to walk around while still connected to the computer around them by a bunch of wires connected to the back of their neck. The doctor left the room briefly (to report to his superiors) before returning and calmly explaining that he’d need to shut them down before making the rest of the bodies. Yes, this was heavily inspired by the demo but the players didn’t notice or didn’t comment on it at the time. And they genuinely really like the one-shot. So, I started writing more, growing the campaign and expanding my list of NPCs.

Now I know what you’re thinking, “wow...you ripped off the demo and think that counts as writing a whole game” but I never said I wrote the whole story, that would be mental. But as both me and my players have pointed out, there is a large number of similarities which is spooky because as i already stated I didn’t know anything about DBH until almost a month after it’s full release.

The first and most profound is Amanda. Or my Amanda, who’s called Ruth LaRue. Dr. Ruth LaRue, the trio’s psychologist/co-creator who acts pleasant (too pleasant) towards them...unless they disobey or resist their training to become Hydra Assets. One of my players is rebellious and LaRue has tried to manipulate and coldly threatened him as a result. While another obeys and gets praise and rewards as a result. Also she looks like Amanda (a character i didn’t even know existed), I originally described her as the same race, hairstyle, though slightly younger. And then I drew her (poorly) for my players to get a better idea of how she looked and Jesus Christ they look the same.

Another is the fact that I have three player characters. There was a possible fourth player but work and life made it difficult for her to be a part of the game. Also my players are two boys and one girl. And while that’s all freaky, their characters appearances/designs are extra weird. Originally, after all getting their own bodies, they all had white plastic robot bodies, all male design (which female player wasn’t happy about because she missed her boobs). The only way to tell them apart was voice and the nervous doctor had given them different coloured eyes. Creating robots came with the challenge of figuring out how their bodies worked (one player was particularly interested in this). Once again inspiration partly came from the Kara demo, the robots are a water (blue liquid) based system, a pump (heart) transports water, which is collect in bags (lungs) through the robots absorbing moisture in the air (through breathing), around the machine frame (body). The water has two purposes, to thinly coat the white plastic casing (skin), which allowed the robot to feel pressure but not texture and also to keep the pump valves going, which creates the energy the machines (players) are run on. After learning that the white plastic version could be easily broken during training, the nervous doctor created a second batch of models, this time made out of metal (female asked for a female body and therefore the doctor gave her a large dent in her chest plate, she was pleased). They then get a new model, ones that are designed to blend in with humans. And this is where this section gets super freaky. The player got no say in how they looked because in game they wouldn’t.

The female is the shortest model as well as they palest model with loads of freckles, the similarities with Kara stop there but the female player has been gifted a female kitten (thankfully named Cookie, not Alice) as the reward and is quite paranoid about it being taken off her or harmed (calm down, I haven’t hurt the cat...yet).

One of the males is only slightly more tanned than the female with considerably less freckles and markings. He’s the tallest and the player has been surprisingly obedient, only "failing” when he doesn’t understand what’s happen or doesn’t think something will benefit HYDRA. Because of this he’s been promoted to team leader by the powers that be. He’s logical and is usually thinking about training and what’s going on in the NPCs’ heads.

Lastly we have the second male who looks southern European (Spain, Italy, Greece and could probably pass as Mexican but the story is set in central Europe) so a different ethnicity/race to the other two. This is the rebellious player who generally plays pranks, cracks jokes and says “fuck you” to authority. Like I said before as a result, he tends to be the one looked down on and oppressed by the powers that be. He generally has a very clear line which he won’t cross no matter what and is willing to stand up if he views something as drastically wrong (refused to hurt his friends or pick up a gun).

Also when asked what they wanted to be called (I.e What’s your name?) The players decided to to sick to what the nice nervous doctor had designated them, i.e the colours of their eyes. Rebellious is Red. Logical is Blue and Female is Purple (name later changed to Violet).

Next is three more NPCs, who have enough in common with the DBH characters to mess with me.

The nervous doctor, Dr. Thomas Thornley, while having a completely different personality, has formed relationships like Hank. A number of the players refer to him as “Daddy Thornley”, not to his face but when talking to each other in game. And most disturbingly the rebellious player has implied on several occasions that he “ships” the logical male player with father-figure Thornley, jokingly of course. And while in the beginning Thornley may have viewed the robots as a project or experiment, he now appears quite protective and fond of them. Even displaying discomfort when one is broken or completely destroyed.

Their combat and gun trainer, Agent Woodrow who is ex-military and treats the robots exactly like you’d expect he would, like machines. He could either be Gavin or Captain Allen but either way he’s a genuine aggressor and dislikes/hates the robots.

The Head of Hydra, Director Malachi Storm who has an air of mystery around him and commands any room he enters. He’s considerable less creepy than Kamski but is an “all-knowing, all-powerful” character. Also I guess I’m technically also Elijah Kamski (a.k.a GOD) and my players pointed out that i have his sadistic, power hungry play style (thanks, guys).

Lastly is a few game mechanics and events i put in the game. The players have always been able to telepathically talk to one another, they can also transfer images to each other. If broken beyond repair (i.e Killed) they now get automatically rebuilt, similar to Connor. I made LaRue give them a morality test which was mostly the “Track dilemma” which is similar to both the driver-less car AIs and the Kamski test. I actually did the motherfucking Kamski test with one or two of my players (but with humans instead of androids lol). Also the players believe they’re alive (which technically they are). They’ve literally been give zero context as to how they are in robot bodies in the MCU, specifically they’re last memories before the start of the game are of going to sleep in their beds in the real world. They are literally three robots walking around stating that they’re alive.

And yes, I realise that Cage took shit from other movies but it have seen any of those movies so...:P

If I looked hard I could probably find more scary comparisons but a) I don’t particularly want to show all my cards, in case my players read this post, and b) I appear to have written a fucking TED talk out of what was supposed to be a short funny story.

#dbh #dbh connor #dbh kara #dbh markus #dbh hank #dbh amanda #dbh kamski #dbh everyone #custom dnd #dnd shenanigans #story time #freaky #what is life #thanks for coming to my ted talk

8 notes · View notes

andrewmoocow · 6 years

Text

Gravity Soul chapter 7: The Excalibur Filler, Are We All Fools? (originally posted on April 21, 2018)

AN: Last time on Gravity Soul, our heroes begin their search for Pacifica but suddenly an old enemy of Maka and company makes her dastardly debut! After a hard-fought battle, Medusa splits the team apart and sends them tumbling towards different parts of the forest. The team consisting of the Stan twins, Wendy, Death the Kid and his Demon Weapons the Thompsons find themselves upon a particular cave where they meet a certain annoying Holy Sword. Hilarity ensues. 6-15-15-12-19!

"Ugh my head, where are we?" Stan groaned rubbing his head as he got up from his fall. "Anyone okay here? Use the hand signal if yes!" Suddenly Ford rose up shaking his head as well. "Now what was that signal again?" the scientist wondered. "Oh, I know!" Patty cried getting up. Rather than making an OK symbol, she clapped her hands, formed her hand into a peace symbol, then into an OK symbol before putting it over her eyes. "I think that was the "I can see your underwear" one." "Dammit, be serious everyone!" Ford exclaimed in frustration. "No egghead, she's right. Your underwear is showing!" Liz stated pointing to his pants, in which they began to drop down a bit. "Oh my goodness, thanks for the heads up!" Ford hastily pulled them up and secured them with his belt. "Now where are we?" "I think we're somewhere near a cave." Wendy guessed pointing at one hidden behind a waterfall and a few bushes here and there. Although it did look gorgeous, there was still the task at hand. "Do you think it might lead us to something useful?" Death the Kid asked examining the cave entrance. "I dunno, let's get in there!" Stan began marching into the cave with the others following close behind, except for Kid who was clinging onto a nearby tree branch. "Hey, this is no time to climb up trees!" "No, I simply refuse to walk into that cave. I'll get wet." Kid stated continuing to grab onto the branch. "Okay then, climb onto my back." Wendy offered. The young shinigami complied leaping down and jumping onto the redhead's back before they finally proceeded. "I have a bad feeling about this." he said.

Traversing further into the cave, the team felt an air of mystery surround them as if something fantastic would await them. But Kid on the other hand felt a heavy amount of deja vu smack him in the face as he watched the fairies fly about. "Something seems awfully familiar about this cave." he mused trying his hardest not to fall off of Wendy. "Almost like we are in for a world of pure obnoxiousness." "Oh please Stripes, I got enough of that from Gideon last summer." Stan sneered smacking a fairy onto his back. "But we seem to be close, these winged things seem to be spreading." Suddenly one fairy flew before them with a benign expression on her face. "Greetings travelers, what happens to bring you here?" "Yeah Crysta, you know where we can find something that can help us kill a merged monstrosity?" Wendy asked. The fairy's face then contorted before them, her eyes darting to one side, gritted teeth showing, her nose completely vanishing only leaving behind the nostrils and wrinkles appearing all over before she flew away in a hurry. "Wait a minute Kid, didn't you and Black Star make that face before?" Ford asked Kid, who was now frozen in fear. "Oh no, not him! Anyone but him again!" he began panicking before making his decision. "That is it, we are leaving right now!" He then leaped off of Wendy not even caring about getting wet and stomped back towards the cave entrance before Stan grabbed him by the shirt collar. "Oh no you don't squirt, you're coming with us whether you like it or not!" he yelled dragging him through the water while Liz and Patty led the way. "I already told you I'd get wet!" the symmetry-obsessed boy cried. "Who cares, we are finding this whatsit and getting outta here!" Finally making it to a domed chamber with a small stone platform in the middle and a sword implanted in it, Stan immediately got excited. "Neato, a sword! We could definitely use one of these!" he cried walking onto the platform and pulling on the weapon. "Good grief this is tough! Someone give me a lift here!" he called before Ford stepped up and grabbed the handle of the sword as well. "Now what could a sword be doing here?" "Yo when you get that out, can I have it as a souvenir?" Wendy asked. "No Wendy, no one's taking it as a souvenir unless you value your sanity!" Kid shouted pointing at her before trying to make a mad dash for the brothers. "DOOOO-OOOON'T PUUUU-UUULL IIIII-IIITTTT!" But he was too late. Stan and Ford finally pulled the sword free and it shone heavenly upon them. "CONGRATULATIONS TRAVELERS! I AM EXCALIBUR, THE GREATEST AND MOST STRONGEST WEAPON OF ALL!" a voice boomed for everyone to hear. "AS A REWARD FOR PULLING ME FROM THE STONE, I SHALL NAME ONE OF YOU MY NEW MEISTER!" The light descended upon the twins and gave way to reveal a small white creature standing before them. The creature had no mouth to speak of, his only facial features being a rather long nose and a pair of eyes staring blankly at the Pines. He wore a white top hat on his head with a matching frilled ruff & jacket and held a cane in his non-existent hand. "That's it, this is Excalibur?! Kinda expected him to be taller!" Stan commented trying to hold back laughter while his brother gazed in awe. "I cannot believe it, the sword of King Arthur himself, and we pulled it out of the stone!" "FOOL!" Excalibur shouted spooking the twins. "Why yes, I am indeed Excalibur, the strongest weapon in the world formerly wielded by King Arthur. And I see you've brought an old friend too." He then turned his gaze to Kid, already cringing at the sight of him. "Please Excalibur, I insist that I interview you!" Ford exclaimed dropping to his knees in excitement. "I want all the details, like Merlin, the Knights of the Round Table, the Holy Grail-" "FOOL! You're asking too much sir." the sword stated smacking Ford with his cane, making his nose jiggle. "So what makes you so afraid of him Kid? Other than actually being pretty rude." Wendy asked. "He must have some kind of latent power to incite anger in those he comes across!" Kid deduced pounding his fist into his palm. "Plus, he is of course disgustingly obnoxious. But I don't know what he is doing here, he's supposed to be in the Eternal Cave." "Why this is my summer home, it is very nice this time of year." Excalibur stated spinning around in a circle. "Now then my six-fingered muchacho, you said you wanted to hear my story?" he asked pointing his cane at Ford. "Why yes! Please tell us sir." Ford sat down on the platform and began listening intently to the sword's tale while the others did their own thing. "My legend dates back to the 12th century. It began on an intensely hot midsummer's day. Wait, it was a chilly autumn's day..."

"Grunkle Stan, Ford, Wendy, Kid! Where are you?" Dipper called for the aforementioned people as he, Mabel, Waddles, Maka, Soul and Crona scoured the forest for them. "They couldn't have gone far. We gotta get them back before we can continue on to Kishin Cipher." Maka declared. "Yeah but at this rate, what chance do we have? I mean, we've seen how strong Medusa's gotten thanks to him!" Soul replied. "Chances are whatever else he's gonna throw at us is gonna waste our asses!" "Don't say that Soul," Crona said. "even if the odds are against us, I know we can win in the end." he said before Ragnarok interjected. "Now that's my boy! You've grown much braver!" he shouted harshly rubbing his head. "Hey, stop it Ragnarok!" "But how can we contact anyone else now? She destroyed our flashlight and now we're separated from the others." Mabel wondered before she suddenly got an idea. "Wait, I think I have a sweater for that!" She took off her current shooting star sweater before swapping it with a lightbulb design that actually functioned as a light source when she pressed it. "Wow, that's really efficient!" Maka exclaimed. "Though don't you think it might become a fire hazard?" "No, it's a fun hazard." Mabel boldly declared. "Now let's get the band back together!" She raced off deeper into the woods before the others followed in hot pursuit. "We're coming guys!"

In another dark part of the forest, Soos, Melody, McGucket and Stein were trying to find a way out while Spirit panicked for his daughter. "Oh what am I going to do?! What if my little Maka is hurt or even dead?! This forest is just so dangerous, there could be predators or criminals out here!" Suddenly his worrying was silenced by Blair. "Oh don't worry big guy, I'm sure Maka's group is fine!" the sexy Monster Cat assured him. "Besides, she's still super strong!" "Oh thanks Blair." Spirit gratefully thanked her. "By the way, why were you so quiet lately?" he asked. "I dunno, I just couldn't find the right thing to say." Meanwhile Soos and Stein were trying to contact the others. "So what do you suppose we do doc?" the former handyman asked. "Why don't we just use the flashlight?" Melody suggested. "That is a great idea Ms. Melody. In fact, I'll try it right now." Stein pulled out the tool and turned it on for about a few seconds before it suddenly flickered out and died. "What the?!" "Sorry 'bout that dude, but if it makes you feel any better I packed spare batteries!" Soos tried to cheer him up by sifting through his backpack but finding no spares. "Oh right, I used up most of them for my radio." He pulled out a radio and turned on some music. "Am I blanchin'? Girl we blanchin'! I live up in a mansion!" "That actually is quite catchy, but let us not distract ourselves." Stein stated. "I suggest we sit here and wait until someone finds us." Just as he spoke, they spotted a faint light in the distance, which upon further inspection turned out to come from a sweater Mabel was wearing as Dipper, Maka, Soul, Crona and Waddles followed her. "Soos, Dr. Stein!" "Dudes! You're safe!" Soos cried scooping the twins in his arms. "Thought we lost you there." he said before Melody joined in on the hug and Blair glomped Soul. "I've missed you too Soul! I was worried you were hurt something fierce or-" "MAKA CHOP!" Maka screamed slapping Soul silly. "Okay, enough stalling. Now we need to find the others and proceed on our mission." Dipper stated. "Let's move out everyone!" With that, the nearly reassembled crew set off to find the other members.

"The one thousand provisions of the Holy Sword Excalibur. #618. When ordering food at a restaurant, always ask for many plates of breadsticks." Team Stan and Excalibur were now sitting at a fancy restaurant calmly waiting for their waiter to arrive. "So you brought us here to this place just so you can get some breadsticks?" Stan asked before the stereotypically French waiter arrived at their table. "Allo allo allo, vat can I get you?" "Okay, I'll have some linguini with a side of tea, Earl Grey, hot." Ford stated. "My scoundrel of a brother here will take some ratatouille. Our dark-haired companion and his fair maidens shall have the escargot, symmetrical of course and finally Ms. Corduroy will have the beef bourguignon." "Anything else mousier?" the waiter asked jotting down their order. "No, I think that's it." Wendy said before Excalibur hit her with his cane. "FOOL! You forgot one thing." he declared. "All right fine. The little guy here will take some breadsticks." "Make that 20 plates of breadsticks garcon." the Holy Sword added. "Mon dieu, that many?!" the waiter gasped. "Oh well, I shall make a note of it." He walked away leaving the patrons at their table. "Seriously, twenty breadsticks? Isn't that a little excessive?" Liz asked before she got a cane to the face. "FOOL! Nothing is too excessive." "I don't want to know what the bill will be like." Kid deadpanned. "Once they come with it, I suggest we say thanks for the food then run for it." Stan suggested. "#202. I can only accept the grandest of toilets." "Are you done yet Excalibur?! Other people need to go too!" Stan cried pounding on the door of a large duck where the sword did his business. "In fact, how can a guy like him go to the john when he doesn't have a hoo-ha or uh-oh?" "I can't take it anymore Grunkle Stan! I have to go now!" Dipper cried behind him doing a potty dance. "Just go behind a tree kid, simple as that!" "I get he wants his privacy," Ford stated standing before the duck. "but isn't this a bit much?" As it turned out, the duck had taken up a small part of Gravity Falls. "#75, Excalibur's birthday, which is everyday by the way, shall be celebrated in grand style." "Wait, everyday?! You must be like really old then!" Wendy exclaimed. "So what kind of cake do you prefer?" Stan asked looking over a catalogue of confectionary treats. "Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, banana, carrot, coconut, devil's food-" Suddenly Excalibur cut him off. "All of the above! It is my birthday after all."

"Black Star? Tsubaki?" Dipper called out for the ninja and his weapon. "Gideon?! Where are you guys?!" "Should we search for Stan and Kid first?" McGucket inquired crawling behind them. "You know, you've got a good point McG. Why don't we find them first?" Mabel responded. "We'll save them for last. Right now we need to get Team #4 back." Dipper stated. "Yeah but aren't we going out of order? Three comes before four y'know." Soos added. "Ditto." Soul replied. "Okay, change of plans. We'll find Stan, Ford and Kid first then Black Star and Gideon." the boy changed his mind and looked onward. "But where could they be?" Suddenly they heard a faint voice singing. "Excalibur, Excalibur! From the United King, I'm looking for heaven, I'm going to California!" the voice crooned. "What is that?" Maka wondered. "I think I know that voice from anywhere." Stein announced before his face distorted in disgust. "It's Excalibur." "Wait, the Excalibur?! As in King Arthur's sword?!" Dipper exclaimed cheerfully. "Please, I have got to see it in person, I just have to!" Just then, Stein simply commanded him to stop talking. "I admire your enthusiasm Dipper, but just so you know Excalibur can be very abrasive which explains why he doesn't have too many Meisters." "Yeah I have to agree dude, that face he made really gives me a bad feeling about this." Soos agreed with the strongest Meister before attempting to imitate the Excalibur face. "Y'know for some reason I can't make it myself." he stated. "Well we got no time to waste, let's find the others and get back on track!" Melody declared walking away from the group before the others followed her.

"#452, attendance of my five-hour story telling party is absolutely mandatory." Every character that has and will eventually appear in this story were now gathered around Excalibur while he told a story that went on for quite a while. As he continued narrating, the audience grew smaller over time until only Ford and Dipper were left. "That is all!" the sword declared to his two-man audience applauding his tale.

"Now if I were a wrinkly old man in a dark forest, where would I be?" Gideon pondered as he, Ghost Eyes, Black Star and Tsubaki searched the woods for the rest of the Mystery Meisters. "Probably taking a whiz, what else?" Black Star answered. "Or perhaps he just gave up and went back to the Shack." Ghost Eyes added. "I don't really think so guys. Mr. Pines may be old, but he most certainly isn't a quitter." Tsubaki disagreed with them. "Besides, did you see how he fought Medusa?! And he's only like fifty-something years old!" "Yep, a fifty-something year old man who found a way to ruin my reputation last summer." Gideon snarked before he pulled out their flashlight and flickered it twice to signal help. Suddenly it began to give out and finally died. "Uh, did we pack any batteries?" "Actually, I think Soos used up most of them." Black Star guessed before he randomly bumped straight into Soul, who was already with the twins, Maka and Crona. "Wait, Soul?!" he exclaimed staring at his friend. "Black Star?" "SOUL!" Black Star cried as the two ran towards each other with tears in their eyes and cherry blossom petals flying around before hugging tightly, still crying. "I thought you were a goner bro!" the last of the Star Clan sobbed. "Me too buddy!" Suddenly, the two of them were shot in the head by none other than Death the Kid. "Oops, finger slipped again. My mistake." "Kid? Then that must mean..." Mabel gasped before her great uncles and Wendy came into view behind him. "Hey kids, sorry it took so long." Stan nervously apologized before Dipper and Mabel rushed into their arms. "We were worried sick, where were you two?" the alpha twin asked. "Well we found this cave that had all these little fairies and this little annoying thing in a hat." Stan replied. "Oh look, here he comes now!" "Wait, little annoying thing in a hat? Oh no!" Black Star panicked before he found none other than Excalibur stepping out of the night shadows of the forest. "Long time no see!" the sword benignly greeted the party. "OH HELL NOOOOO!" Black Star screamed at the top of his lungs, echoing throughout the forest before Tsubaki stuck her hand over her partner's mouth. "Be quiet Black Star, Kishin Cipher could still be watching us." "So why did you bring him with you?!" Black Star demanded incredulously removing his weapon's hand and glaring at Black Star. "FOOL!" Excalibur shouted as usual. "Why it's actually the other way around. In exchange for learning my 1000 provisions, I would help your companions find you guys and here we are." "I can't believe it, the very Excalibur wielded by King Arthur! I have like a jillion questions for you!" Dipper exclaimed getting incredibly excited before he finally collapsed. "Hey Dipper, you all right?" Wendy asked waking him up. "Oh I'm fine Wendy. So how was meeting Excalibur." And that was when she, Stan, Ford and Kid all made the Excalibur face. "Painful." they answered. "And I guess we're pretty much stuck with him." Liz added transforming back into her human form. "And trust me, I've dealt with Patty's childishness and Kid's disorders to know how to survive this." "No time to waste everyone, let's find Pacifica!" Patty shouted transforming as well and pointing onward. "Yes, follow me everyone!" Excalibur exclaimed letting his cane lead the way. "For your information Excalibur, Dipper and I are supposed to be the leaders." Maka stated before she got a whack to the head from the Holy Sword. "FOOL! I actually know this town from top to bottom for some reason, so let me be the leader." As the Mystery Meisters dreadfully followed the Holy Sword onward to the former Northwest Mansion, a wolflike creature with a frog perched on its head watched them from behind a tree, its left eye glowing a hellish red and fangs showing as it snarled.

"Master Kishin Cipher, the enemy has now been led astray. There is no doubt your master plan will go uninterrupted." Medusa reported back to a large sack hanging under the hole in the roof before a crystal ball appeared from out of nowhere and showed the Mystery Meisters now reunited and on their way. "I greatly apologize for failing you oh great God of Weirdness and Madness, please tell me what I should do to redeem myself." There was dead silence until Kishin Cipher telepathically installed a new order within the witch's mind. "Understood." she accepted and walked over to the now lowered cage containing Pacifica Northwest. "Wake up little one." The former rich girl awoken and rubbed her eyes to find the witch towering over her with a cold frown on her face. "W-what are you going to do with me?" she whimpered curling up into a ball and trying to scoot away from her. "Why it's simple Llama," Medusa answered, her stoic expression turning into a manic grin. "we're going to prepare you.”

And that was Chapter 7, the aptly named Excalibur chapter! Just what is Medusa going to prepare Pacifica for and will our brave band of heroes save her in time while surviving Excalibur?! Find out on the next chapter of Gravity Soul! Review or I'll take your soul.

1 note · View note

hufflepuffxfox · 4 years

Text

Long Past Dawn - Chapter 1

Title: Long Past Dawn Word Count: 1603 Pairings: This chapter - None Overall - Anxeit, Logicality, Prinxiety, Remile, Receit, Prinxieceit, DLAMP Main Characters: This chapter - Roman Sanders (Courval) Other Characters: This Chapter - Patton Sanders (Venne), Remus Sanders (Courval), Virgil Sanders (Veilchen), Tikki Warnings: Non-graphic fighting Story Summary: Miraculous Ladybug Sander Sides Cross overs - The Sides as Miraculous holders. No need to know Miraculous Ladybug, lore explained in story as it comes up. Paris is being plagued with monsters and villains, all sent but the evil Papillion Noir in order to draw out the Miraculous of Creation and Destruction. It is said to grant a wish to the person who wields both of them at once and he has a wish he needs granted. Roman Courval is your normal theater major – Well, if you consider becoming a masked superhero in times of need normal. But aside from that, he is just like every other student on campus, including a crush on Virgil Veilchen, spending too much time goofing around with his best friends Patton Venne and Logan Cato and worrying about his grades and just trying to survive college in a foreign citySee, completely normal. Saving Paris is just part of his life now. And honestly, he kinda likes it. Chapter Summary: A new Akuma is attacking Paris but Papillon and Paon are nowhere to be seen. Luckily there is a new hero about to be born, ready to save the city. You can also read HERE on my AO3

Prologue – Chapter 1 -- Next chapter

Chapter One Man or Monster?

“Ah shit, shit, shit!” Roman Courval was going to be so late to his first class. That was not going to go well for his wanting to do better at school this year. He had promised himself that he would do better this year.

He ran out of his room, grabbing his backpack and red jacket as he left. He ran into the kitchen and reached over to grab the poptarts that had just popped up from the toaster. “Hey!” His flatmate, and twin brother, Remus, scowled at him as he headed for the door.

“Sorry Rem! I’ll buy you some new ones after class,” he said before running out the door, ignoring the dark look he was being given.

With a poptart hanging out of his mouth, the young man set his backpack down at his feet while he waited for the light to change, slipping his jacket on. He looked up at the blaring of car horns. An older man was trying to cross the street, going slower than the driver coming at him wanted him to be apparently. Seeing that the car wasn’t stopping, Roman ran out, food falling to the ground as he grabbed the man and quickly moved him out of the way, barely getting out of the way and feeling the air brush him as the horn blared at them both.

He set the man down and flashed him a nervous grin. “You okay, Sir?”

“Oh yes, thank you, young man.” The old man smiled up at him. Roman gave him a small smile and a salute as the old man picked up his bag and passed it over to him. “I am sorry about your pastry.”

“No problem. Have a good day.” He said before taking off across the street and towards campus, swearing as he nearly tripped.

”Are you sure that is a good pick for our new hero?” a soft voice said from his pocket.

“He won’t be working alone, Wyazz...But he will make a good hero. I won’t make the same mistake as last time.” The man said, turning away and walking down the street at a normal pace.

-XxX-

Roman slipped into the back of his classroom, grimacing as he heard the professor already talking. He slid into the seat by his best friend, ruffling the curly light brown hair of Patton Venne as he did so. “Hey, Pats, I miss anything important?” He whispered.

The other young man shook his head, yawning a little. “Nothing yet.” he put his head down on the desk, curls flipping in front of his face. “Ugh, I wish my first class was with Remy. He always has coffee.”

“Long night?”

“I had to finish my project for design.”

“Ohhhh, Can I see?”

“No! That is safely locked away in my car until class. The last time I let you see one of my projects you got red jam all over the sleeve.” Patton gently scolded him.

“Aw, that was one time Pat.”

“Can you two be quiet.” The person in front of them turned to snap, dark brown eyes almost looking black with the anger inside them. “You guys may not care about this but some of us are paying a lot of money to be here and would like to actually do well.”

“Sorry.” Patton offered him a smile. The young man just huffed and turned back to face the front, pulling his hood up over purple-dyed hair. Roman rolled his eyes and made a face at the back of the other student. Patton elbowed him in the side and gave him a stern look. Roman gave him a sheepish look and sat back, taking out his notebook to start writing down notes.

Before the class could get too far in though, the door was blown open. Several people near the front screamed and hide under their desks as the dust settled and a larger than life strange-looking figure walked in, wearing yellow rubber gloves and carrying a soapy wand of some sort.

“You didn’t do the dishes again!” the figure’s voice rumbled throughout the room, soap bubbles escaping their lips when they spoke. Roman watched, frozen, as the figure took a deep breath and expelled bubbles out, aiming at the professor who was staring dumbfounded at the creature.

The bubbles hit the woman and Roman watched with wide eyes as they moved to merge into one bubble that started to lift her up in the air. He stood up from his chair and grabbed his backpack to throw it at the monster but felt a tug on his arm. He turned a little and saw Patton watching him with wide, fear-filled eyes. “Ro….no.” He whispered.

Roman looked between his best friend and the monster, who was now blowing bubbles to capture anyone who got in its way. He heaved a sigh and moved to back out of the room, pulling the taller male with him. “Come on, Patton…” he whispered. He slung his bag over one shoulder, feeling something warm against his back. He pushed Patton ahead of him, making sure to keep himself between his friend and the bubble monster. Out of the room, there were lots of people, students and staff alike, running around. Try as he might, he felt himself getting separated from Patton. He chewed his lip in thought for a moment before turning and going back towards the classroom to make sure everyone was safe. As he ran he felt the warm patch of his bag grow warmer, like something was trying to get his attention. He shook his head; that was a silly thought.

He arrived in the room in time to see the monster jump out of the window, trailing a string of bubbled-people behind it. With them gone the room was empty. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

You can help them something whispered in his head.

“How?” He muttered. “How can I save people from a...bubble monster?”

As if in response he felt that spot in his bag flare-up in heat and he dropped the bag to the ground with a yelp. He frowned, something seemed to be glowing from the bag. He slowly opened it and found a little black and red box letting out a red glow. He picked it up and opened it, shutting his eyes as the red light flared out.

When he opened his eyes again he found himself staring and a little floating red and black...bug?

“Hello I’m Tikki.” The voice was squeaky and high pitched. Roman frowned a little and looked around. What was going on?

“uhhh….I’m Roman?”

“Nice to meet you Roman, are you ready to help save those people?”

“I guess...but how.”

“It’s simple. Just put those on and say ‘Tikki, Spots on!’” the bug pointed to the black earrings in the box Roman was still holding. “When you do, you will become a superhero, with superpowers. You will have your Lucky charm, and your reaction speed will be better.”

Roman raised an eyebrow but nodded. He put the warrings in, taking out the little studs Patton had talked him into getting last year. “Okay….Tikki, Spots on!”

He closed his eyes as that light flared out again and he felt his clothes shift around him. When he looked down his jeans had turned into red pants, and his jacket was more fitted and closed, he was wearing red gloves and he had a large yo-yo clipped to his belt. He also had black spots all over his clothes.

“Tikki?” he looked around but the red and black bug was nowhere to be found. He would have spent more time on it but he heard screams coming from outside. Later. He could worry about this later.

He didn’t even stop to think about it as he ran to the hole the monster had created and threw himself out it, using his yo-yo to grab to the light post and swing-out instead of crashing to ground two stories below.

He felt his heart racing, a grin spreading across his face as he swung along after the monster.

“Hey! Soapy! You are making quite the mess of the city!”

The creature, or as Roman had dubbed it now, Soapy, turned to face him. “What are you, little one? Are you trying to stop me? I am going to make the world squeaky clean.” Roman snorted a little at that and wound his yo-yo up to throw it at Soapy.

“I am Clean Master! You dare laugh at me?”

Roman laughed again, releasing his yoyo and throwing himself with it; only realizing a moment too late that Clean Master was not a solid being and his yo-yo had nothing to wrap around. With a yelp, he tried to aim it towards the closest lamp post but found himself hanging upside, tied to the post instead of on his feet.

Well shit.

He saw the Clean Master gather air to expel some bubbles at him and capture him. That was the short time frame for being a superhero. He closed his eyes as the bubbles were blown out, missing the silver staff coming down to pop the bubbles and the black and purple-clad man that slid down the staff to land on the ground next to the upside hero.

“Need some help, Punaise?” he purred.

#Sanders Sides #Miraculous Ladybug #AUs are gold #Roman Sanders #Patton Sanders #Virgil Sanders #Tikki #Ladybug Miraculous #My Writing #Fanfiction #Chapter 1

0 notes

insane-mane · 7 years

Photo

11 year old Ben’s new batch of 10! Updated powers n such under the cut!

Swampfire has the ability to regrow his body over and over again from even the worst type of damage. He has a heated inner core that allows him to create fire from his charcoal-like hands. When snapping his fingers together, a spark ignites the methane gases his body produces, allowing him to create fire. Being a being that LIVES on heat, Swampfire can withstand almost any type of hot temperatures. Swampfire is pretty resilient against many things, but if in extremely col environments, he is greatly weakened. He has a TERRIBLE odor due to the methane gas (although not as bad as Stinkfly’s stank) so hiding ain’t easy. For this design, I tried merging all of his concept designs, along with his blossomed form while adding a bit of my own flare to it. Heh, flare. Like fire. As in the alien above. The one that controls fire. Aptly named Swampfire. I wish I was dead.

For Echo Echo’s new design, I kinda wanted to return to form on this one. While I love Omniverse’s style and a lot of their redesign’s (I mean it IS practically the only art style I try to go for when drawing Ben 10), there are a few redesigns that don’t really strike me as the best. Echo Echo kinda being on of them. My only complaint was making him more pudgy-looking and giving him bulbous bug eyes. So, I kinda used his old design while keeping in tune with Omniverse’s design. Echo Echo is like a living amplifier. Covered in head to toe with a biosuit allowing him to create copies of himself, Echo Echo can duplicate and increase his amplitude tenfold. However, he can’t make infinite copies of himself. His max limit for clones is around 10 to 15. Anymore than that can weaken him and make his amplification less powerful. So if you’re expecting an army, you’re out of luck.

For Humungousaur’s new design I didn’t necessarily change much despite his power set is a tad different. AS for his clothing, I absolutely LOVE giving Vaxasaurians MMA-style clothing (shorts and gloves, primarily). I liked how it looks on my OC, Brawlasaurus, so I wanted to do it with Humungousaur too! Humungousaur is one one of Ben’s strongest, and largest aliens (besides Way Big). Humungousaur is pretty much just a large humanoid-like Dinosaur alien ranging up to 20 feet tall. He has IMMENSE strength (surpassing Four Arms), and very durable, incredibly dense, armor-like skin. But, like every alien, he has his weaknesses. Vaxasaurians are notorious for being cold-blooded creatures. Meaning if they were ever in contact with harsh, cold elements, their strength and size would dwindle and could possibly even die. So if a Vaxasaurian were to ever pick a fight with a Necrofriggian, chances are the Necrofriggian would come out the victor. And before anyone asks, no. My versions of Vaxasaurians do not sporadically change their size and grow plates of armor. They’re already large enough and have dense skin.

Instead of flying fast, Jetray is able to merely glide quickly in the air. In the water, however, he’s an incredibly fast swimmer. He can still breathe both on land and in water. Instead of shooting lasers from his eyes and tail, he merely has the ability to do so from his eyes. His tail is now able to shoot out a very long, VERY sharp paralytic barb that he can regrow. For this redesign I wanted to keep Jetray’s colors/stripes and such, but have a few of his features to feel a tad more alien. So I decided to simply restructure his face and change his abilities.

Big Chill’s power set is not that different from what we’ve seen. He still has the ability to freeze things by blowing incredibly cold gases/wind onto an opponent, freezing them instantly. He also has the ability to become intangible and phase through different objects, even freezing them inside-out if he chooses. Big Chill now has the added ability to create large ice structures over his limbs in order to make any punch/kick twice as powerful. Big Chills species can survive the cold vacuum of space, however they are still susceptible to incredibly hot temperatures. Was really excited for this one since Big Chill was an old fave of mine. For his design, I really wanted to keep the buff look Omniverse gave him, since I sorta felt his more scrawny-look made him look like a dude in a suit (a problem I feel UAF had a lot of times with their designs). I wanted to give him a lil fur, like an actual moth, and an exposed rib cage that has a translucent sack that can sorta show his organs (although a tad hard to see in the pose, my bad). I also REALLY wanted to keep the hood he always wears, so I had the idea that to top part of his wings stay on his head when he’s gliding, but when he needs to fly faster they flow outward, giving him more air to fly on.

Chromastone is still a subspecies of Petrosapiens known as a Crystalsapien. However, this subspecies mainly lives deep underground, illuminating the dark caves and catacombs. They absorb large amounts of light when they’re on the surface and “feed it” to the core of Petropia, thus containing the planet as a whole. The crystal on his head allows him to shoot a wide range of powerful beams of light that can disintegrate an object in no time flat. He can also create light energy-based barriers to defend himself (an evolutionary trait his species learned to not be crushed by any cave-ins). Nothing too different from the last redesign I did for, but merely simplified it and gave him a new outfit.

For his powers/skill set, Brainstorm is one of Ben’s most strategic and analytical aliens on the roster. Able to calculate practically ANYTHING (whether it being complex math equations, enemy attacks, etc.) Brainstorm proves to be a go-to alien when needed for complex issues Ben can’t solve on his own. Brainstorm can produce and manipulate electricity in a variety of useful forms, including shoving/launching or shocking enemies, creating protective force fields of energy by opening the exoskeleton plates on his skull. Brainstorm is often very cold an calculating, so a lot of his calculations don’t involve how other may feel about his solutions. His species is also very boastful, so he may get stuck on admiring how intelligent he is. Nothing all that different for Brainstorm in terms of design, pretty much just an addition of the sharp, winged ridge around his dome. Felt like it gave him some mad scientist “hair” in a weird way. .

For his skill sets, Spidermonkey is not too different. He’s now equipped with sharp, prehensile spider-like arms and a paralytic/venomous bite. Spidermonkey’s webs are about as strong as a lightweight cable, and sticky enough to latch on to just about any surface. Spidermonkey is able to climb on just about anything, although places with sooth surfaces can be pretty hard for him to grasp on to. Spidermonkey is INCREDIBLY agile, able to dodge many attacks and can jump insanely high. However, he’s not as strong as you might think. He relies far too much on his webbing, but can only organically spin out as much as he can. He can be easily caught off guard and taken down, depending on his adversary. For this design, I really wanted to hammer in the whole spider aspect about Spidermonkey, since I sorta feel his design was pretty much just a monkey with extra limbs and weird eyes. However, I didn’t want to stray away from his initial design he had in UAF. I didn’t really like the hair design they went with in Omniverse, so I kept the UAF style since it gave him more of a spider-looking head.

This Goop doesn’t need his Anti-Gravity Projector to move, however if he’s on a planet with little to no gravity, his body will move aimlessly and sporadically. He’s still able to make his goop acidic, and can fit between any crease or crevice. However, if the Omnitrix (which is now located inside his body for convenience) is removed from his body it will return Ben to his human form. His one major weakness is large amounts of water. If submerged, his body will dilute and also cause Ben to revert back to his human form. Goop’s species is immune to heat, but can be slowed down in much more frigged temperatures. Nothing too different from the first redesign I did of him, just felt like putting him in an old pose he’s had before.

And last but certainly not least, Alien X! I really loved his initial look, so the only thing I really wanted to was give him clothes inspired by OS suits and the Galactic Gladiator outfit. I also wanted to make the three horns on his head to be the same color green that Serena and Bellicus are to show how there are three entities controlling Alien X (including Ben, obviously). Alien X is at the TOP of the most powerful aliens list. He’s omnipotent, being able to warp reality, time, and space with ease and at any level. He’s so powerful he can even recreate the universe if need be! However, that doesn’t mean these tasks are easy… A major weakness for the most powerful alien in the universe is simply coming to a decision on what to do. Sounds dumb right? It should be easy knowing what to do immediately. Wall crumbles? Just rebuild it using your thoughts. City being wiped out by typhoon? Just reverse the effects of the planet to calm it down. Bad guy going on a rampage? Teleport him to the nearest dimension. Well, it wouldn’t be hard to actually do those things, but it depends on every variable you could dream of. Ben often goes to Serena and Bellicus (the two other halves of a Celestialsapien that they all have) to see what to do. Serena tells Ben how one decision can solve the situation, while Bellicus tells him how it could also mess with events going on ANYWHERE in the universe. Not only that, but Alien X’s powers are so difficult for Ben to manage that any one of his abilities can mess with the fabric of reality itself. While in this form, Ben would have to be absolutely emotionless and analytical. All three must come to a conclusion that ends up solving the problem, while not damaging any part of the space-time continuum. You can probably imagine how that sort of thing can be really difficult for an 11 year old who barely knows what cereal to get at the super market. Not only that, but turning into Alien X takes a major tole on Ben’s psyche. After transforming back, Ben still hears voices and gets major headaches. He has trouble sleeping at night, thinking about every action he takes that could have a negative or positive effect. It really messes with him for a while, making Alien X one of his most powerful, and harmful aliens to transform into.

#ben 10 #my art

99 notes · View notes

jsuki · 7 years

Photo

Jsuki; DIABOLIK LOVERS Lunatic Parade - Character Ranking & After-thoughts

I've got this game for over a year...(omg), but with so many other series and new games to play, I kinda kept this on my shelf after unboxing it, till recently. LP follows the style similar to Vandead Carnival, with the mini-games and sub-scenarios. It seems to be a very loose continuation from Dark Fate if you wish, but there really isn't much crucial plot, which means you can play this off the bat even if with no knowledge on DL prior. I also questioned why they really made this game, since it's so similar to VC and so low on importance...maybe for the Carla or Shin fans who are desperate to see their faves in a carnival setting? :/ Actually no, it's probably to get the die-hard DL fans like myself to spend more money.

Plot: Yui dreams that she had a conversation with a mysterious man, who asks her if she feels she is missing something, and also if the man she loves truly loves her for who she is or simply for her blood. Then one day, the Sakamaki / Mukami family receives an invitation by a certain Count Walter (who has stolen Yui's heart, literally), asking for them to come join a parade in the demon realm. In order to retrieve her heart, the boys and Yui travel there, before the temporary jewel that gives her life that's embedded in her body wears out, and then she dies. In this game, Yui is already in love with the boy and they are a couple, so for whoever's route you pick, the boy will be the one accompanying Yui on her fantabulous heart-retriving journey. There is also no illustration whatsover of Count Walter, or his butler, but I imagine in my heart that he's some crazy old bat similar to Karl Heinz.

Each of the boys' routes only have 4 chapters + ending. In order to get a good final end, you need to get at least 2 right answers and also the pass the mini-game. It's really the VC style, except simpler I think, since the answers are quite easy and you can even pick the level of the mini-game (I usually go for normal, but if you're unconfident, you can just go for easy, which makes it easier to pass). The general plot also goes like this: Enter realm > tries to find Count Walter > runs into random trouble > solve trouble while playing at the carnival > Count Walter returns heart?? The game was not without its loopholes too; I understand that when Yui doesn't have a heart, blood won't be pumping through her body, and so, her smell won't attract any vampires. However, when Count Walter returns her her heart, it seems she can still prance around enjoying the parade with no problems after, lolol.

I've done up a usual Top 5 character ranking, which will contain some spoilers, so please read at your own risk! Please also know that I didn't jot down any notes or write the descriptions instantly after finishing each route, so everything's off the top of my head. Top 5 is also from favourite to least favourite routes!

Sakamaki Subaru: Tsunbaru continues to strike in LP! Going into the demon world, they actually enter Count Walter's mansion immediately, where Subaru threatens the Count instantly by knocking over the some expensive art in his house. Unfortunately, it seems the Count won't appear anymore, so they figured they'll have to replace the broken art piece if they even want to discuss him returning Yui's heart. They go to find an eccentric old art collector, who sets them out on 3 tasks. In the end, Count Walter really does just return Yui's heart to her, after the 3 tasks were finished. (LOL Count Walter is a weirdo with too much time on his hands.) But Subaru was just super sweet throughout, and you actually get character development! Subaru first sees Yui being kind and helpful to others, and at the end, he does the same (which becomes key to solving task 3). I actually really like that. Despite Subaru bellowing at half of the things, in the end, he and Yui dress up in costumes, send lanterns in the sky, and kiss in the middle of the parade. My heart<3

Mukami Ruki: While his was a bit too serious and negative(?) during Vandead Carnival, I felt like his route this time was really enjoyable! He’ll keep the task in mind, still let them enjoy the carnival, but then tease Yui and there’ll be a lot of hot, kissing scenes ((((:

Sakamaki Kanato: Kanato is actually a fun route for me to play, unexpectedly! Despite his tantrums and all, he was hell-bent on getting Yui’s heart back, and I thought the entire route was quite the adventure, from them getting swept up in the sky, to running amock in the caves. He was also pretty sweet (in the scenarios where he should be). Such a far cry from the Kanato I know in the first two games!

Sakamaki Shu: I can’t quite remember what happened in Shu’s route anymore :/ It wasn’t memorable, and as usual, Shu is just kinda sluggish, reluctant and logical about his actions to retrieving Yui’s heart. Mainly, they were running around trying to track Count Walter’s butler. They had cute moments tho, like them holding hands as they stroll through the parade, or when they rode the ferris wheel. I remember one thing that annoyed me was how awkward some of his CGs looked…it’s like their art and design department forgot how the kiss scenes go, and that final CG of them kissing especially looked like they’re trying to merge their faces together :| I’M SO CONFUSED. OK but I don’t remember hating his route, so it must just be so-so.

Sakamaki Ayato: Ayato is my favourite character, so when he is out of character, it stands out extra to me. While in the demon world, Ayato and Yui run into constant trouble, which is mostly because Ayato is too brash and too violent, and goes around hitting people or intruding onto other people’s premises =_= Instead of really focusing on getting Yui’s heart back, it’s more like we’re running around, trying to fix some irrelevant shit that Ayato started. There were also scenes where Ayato tries to kiss Yui at obviously inappropriate situations, so none of it feels romantic to me because clearly, the mood isn’t there. I was generally pretty frustrated doing Ayato’s route b/c it was as though Ayato had no sense of urgency, even though when there comes a crucial moment to talk about how important Yui’s heart is, he’s able to do it, but his actions along the way don’t prove that. In the end, Ayato admits and assures Yui that he loves her, not simply for her heart, but also for her soul, and they make out at the ferris wheel before the parade ends. The route then ended and I had no idea whatever happened with Count Walter, the demon world’s citizens and the bad guys????? Overall, a route with no heads or tails.

Bonus → Sakamaki Laito (This is up because he's the only guy I happened to type out the description for, so I shan't let it go to waste now): Is it just because I dislike Laito? I felt like he wasn’t very serious about the fact that she LOST HER HEART, and that he finds it to be troublesome trying to retrieve it. Half the time, since they can’t seem to enter Count Walter’s mansion, they get played into this young vampire swindler’s hands, who promises them that he knows the way in. They meet a bunch of tiring hurdles, somehow gets lucky and passes them, but then there is no actual meaning as to how they contribute to the big picture. You feel they’re all just kinda one-off, but at the end of the day, Count Walter says he is impressed and then just gives Yui her heart back <_< It’s like, in the end, Laito already given up and just says, “Let’s enjoy the parade” and Yui is like, “Let’s”. CLEARLY THEY HAVE GIVEN UP. I think partially it is just Laito’s supposed personality, but I’ve never been a fan of him so I guess it just wasn’t enjoyable.

Additionally, there are also the ‘Care for vampire’ and ‘Date with (insert family name)’ scenarios. I thought the the Date with Sakamakis one was super cute, where the boys each take turns to take Yui out on a date, such as Shu taking her shopping, and Subaru bringing her to a public cafe and drink from a heart-shaped straw…because they’re silently competing as to which brother she enjoys going on dates with the best. Hilarious stuff!

Overall, even as a DL fan, you don't really need this game. If you're desperate for a carnival setting, please play Vandead Carnival, since it's a lot better, with better CGs to boot. They really recycled a lot of stuff (including the mini-games and BGM), and the plot is thin too, and if I knew earlier, I would actually skip the game myself.

Currently, I'm playing UtaPri Repeat Love~ will post up a review as usual after I'm done! Other games that I've also pre-ordered for my PSV include Osomatsu-san THE GAME, MARGINAL#4 ROAD TO GALAXY. Still considering Tsukiuta's Tsukitomo. I'M BUSY.

#diabolik lovers #sakamaki subaru #sakamaki kanato #mukami ruki #sakamaki ayato #sakamaki shu #sakamaki laito #Lunatic Parade #Game #PS VITA #review

47 notes · View notes

survivor-marianas-trench · 7 years

Text

“I’d rather drown.” - Episode 4

Sorry I haven't been here yet. But like wow, I've lucked out. I haven't been vulnerable yet. And just when I think I haven't got a shot, we merged with the people who I can potentially work with. This is what I needed. Friends. I can't wait for this. I need the me/Gabby/kait/jenn thing to work with the me/liana thing and I need to pull in Emma and amanda. And then we can take out all of the men. I'd be fine with that. I really would be. Ok, since not much has happened yet that's all I have to say. But stay tuned, I'm hoping it gets interesting.

My new tribe? My new tribe is everyone. Aka 21 crazy people! Jk I like a lot of these people and can't wait to get to know the people I don't know.

honestly this is gross, a 21 person merge makes me want to cry! I hope this is temporary! But I mean, there are plenty of great people on this tribe that I might like to work with

Ok! So it looks like telling Kelsey wasn't a complete bad idea! It looks like I'm the only one who mentioned Shea's name to her so she's grateful for that which is good. I feel like I'm slowly starting to take all these people left out of the loop under my wing, first Seamus and now Kelsey. Hopefully I can actually make something happen with this, especially with this 21 person merge!?!?!? I'm truly shook but I feel like I'm in a good position. I was on good terms with everyone on Tasi (with the exception of maybe Liana? Who knows where she stands tbh) and then I have Kait and Jenn as well so whew. I've talked a bit with Rhea and I feel like I can get something going with Chrissa and Amanda too so hopefully this immunity disadvantage won't hurt me too much.

THIS VIDEO IS ME AND LUKE STRATEGIZING NOW THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY WORK TOGETHER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eswdydFXf78

I've got there minutes before midnight so ill make it short: dogs bark the loudest when they are scared. That's all! :)

I'm very upset about not being able to compete because apparently it's making us a target and it's all my fault and I feel awful. Despite Darians messy ass going from one tribe to the other saying Finite will join forces against the other, one of us Tasi could still be going. I hate. I just need Luke to answer me like desperately!! This is the worst time to have a tribal honestly. I'm working all day tomorrow then go straight to class and I'm honestly probably gunna pass the fuck out when I get home and make my friends my mad for not going out with them and get voted out because my lazy ass won't talk to people. So here's my co cession all now. Hopefully I can turn it around and not be voted out and maybe even save all of my Tasi tribe mates. Like honestly Darian is such a mess telling everyone the same thing! When will he learn that if you tell everyone the same thing they're going to catch on. Why can't it just be him going? I love him and all but he just makes it so easy to target him so like that's what I'm gunna do.

I am extremely excited because Billy and I made a final two deal and I can't wait to take all these suckers down!

P.S I love Ricky and Monty

I don't know how well i fair at this point i want to make jury and like everything but it's hard

I.FUCKING.LOVE.KAIT. So Darian had this "master" plan to get the old Finite tribe to stick together with one of the other tribes to get the third out....only problem... THE DUMBASS WENT TO BOTH OF THE OTHER TRIBES LMFAO So his bitch ass got caught trying to flip them against eachother and now everyone wants to target him and Kait and I are sitting here CACKLING OUR ASSES OFF THIS IS FUCKING HILARIOUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SO ANYWAYS since Kait and I actually have a brain, we wanna pull a small group from each tribe together rather than tribe v tribe bullshit. We're trying to figure out who to pull in now. Are Kait and I the duo of the century? I think so

Kait is cracked and I am literally just here for the ride so I am grabbing a life vest!

A 21 person merge is just... I'd rather drown.

Darling! What a lovely week it's been so far. The merge has come and I've had a lot of time to talk to people. This week, I've definitely had to work on making those new relationships, building those old bridges. I've got to run as far from Tasi as I can get, because I know that if things continued with them, I'd be the next boot out. Thankfully, the other tribes seem to be nice but I've got to be able to find out who's being put up for elimination before the designated time to vote comes. If I can find it, I can change it. And if I can change it, I can call it! And at this point, who doesn't want to be calling the shots? I DEFINITELY do, especially since I had no shot at immunity. Based on how other people in this game have been treating me, specifically Liana, I'm definitely considering myself in danger of going home this week...but I can't go home. I gotta hit that top, henny! And in order to reach the top, I've got to make it through these preliminary weeks and I've come too far to stop now! I came to slash throats, save my family and wear ugg boots. Let's hop to it with personality and positivity, yes? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLou1H0uw1Y Canada's Self Proclaimed Favourite; Kelsey Mikaelson~!

Well this has been one hell of a round First, only three fucking people tried in the immunity challenge and actually got points, making them the only ones to get immunity. Super fun. Those three would be Luke, Kait and Rob. Luckily those three are involved in a huge multi tribe alliance that is forming Yup 14 people I think. We are all voting together to start weeding out others This alliance consists of the finite 7 Rob, Amanda, kait, Emma, andie, rhea, and me Gabriel, johnny, Luke, Jen Billy, Seamus, and Christine I know this is a cluster fuck of people but this is a cluster fuck season. Anywho. I'm hoping all goes smoothly and everyone proved loyal. I guess we will find out tonight

Darian is a HOT ASS MESS. Like how can you go around and be so confident about a vote that is not in your corner? Like obviously I'm confident Darian will go, but like at the same time, I'm not cocky confident about it. Darian is so blinded by his own ego to see that his ass is in trouble. So many people have gone to Sam with receipts of him saying her name and he (in my mind) has no clue. What a messy ass bottom.

The beginning of this game was kind of rough for me, I didn't really know anybody on my tribe except for Billy and Chrissa and if we had remained as that tribe, I definitely think I could have been heading home so it's comforting that things are starting to look up for me. This 'merge' has been really interesting, especially because it's just letting everybody see how messy Darian is. He wants to put the OldTasi and OldMakahana tribe against one another but agreeing to align with both sides????does he not understand that he will be pissing off so many people by doing that? dumbass. Sam and I have been werking and so far think we have Dan, Amanda, Andie, Lily, Seamus, Kait, Jenn, Kelsey, Liana, and potentially 3 more votes PLUS our votes to take out Darian. This is going to be so beautiful because he's so confident that he's running things but bless him for trying I guess. Oh yeah! I have immunity! That's fun too

Well. Hopefully Darian goes tonight and not Sam. I love Sam and would hate for her to go so soon! I'm doing rlly best to convince those I'm closer to to vote for Darian so hopefully it works out. This is so scary!

I love when chrissa lies to me! Maybe Billy too but hmm it's interesting how no one I've talked to know how votes are going this late in the game. Seems like my alliance has this though. And now it's shown me that I can't trust billy and chrissa sooo!

Kait is a good demon and she's gonna pull numbers to get out drain I love her when she's not angry with me

darian goggin is a dumb bitch

Ok so this vote is either gonna be make or break for me tbh. I'm super nervous cause I kinda want Darian to go instead of Sam because I love Sam so much its not even funny. She's one of the people I know I can actually trust and Darian seems like a bit of a wildcard. I don't like people who put themselves in like leadership positions cause I like doing my own little thing so being in a massive group that Darian created makes me uneasy, especially because he wants to target Tasi. Like.....I don't wanna be the person that takes out my entire tribe out just for me to be next!? I'm not that Dumb...They never did anything to me! They screwed Seamus over though which is what's killing me right now cause it looks like Seamus wants Sam to go so I'm just a mess. I really wanna work with Seamus though so as long as we get through this together, we should be fine...hopefully. I'm just stressed cause nobody really talks strategy with me like I feel like I have to pry it out of them most of the time and its getting annoying. Like I love Kelsey but he always waits last minute and by last minute I MEAN THE LITERAL LAST MCFRICKEN MINUTE to tell me a name and by that point its just like...over....So yeah! I'm a bit frustrated but no matter what happens I think I can make something good out of this.

Did i betray Darian? Yeah : / hopefully rhea goes with me too

#deeperdarkerdanger #confessionals

0 notes